N5.9bn fraud: Court adjourns Fani kayode’s case till Feb 24

The Federal High Court in Lagos has adjourned the N5.9billion alleged fraud trial of a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, till February 24, 2020.

Fani-Kayode is on trial for the offence alongside a former Minister of State for Finance, Nenadi Usman; Danjuma Yusuf, and a firm, Joint Trust Dimensions Ltd.

Justice Rilwan Aikawa fixed the date following the absence of the counsel for Yusuf and Joint Trust Dimensions Ltd, Mr Clement Onwuenwuenor.

Onwuenwuenor wrote to the court to seek an adjournment on the ground that he was before the Court of Appeal in Lagos in respect of three criminal cases.

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Justice Aikawa granted his prayer.

The defendants are facing 17 counts bordering on conspiracy, unlawful retention of proceeds of theft and money laundering.

Fani-Kayode, who was the Director of Publicity of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential campaign organisation for the 2015 election, was accused of conspiring with the others to, directly and indirectly, retain various sums which the EFCC claimed they ought to have reasonably known were proceeds of crime.

In one of the counts, the defendants were accused of conspiring among themselves to “indirectly retain the sum of N1,500, 000,000.00 which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: stealing.”

The four were also accused of indirectly retaining N300m, N400m and N800m, all proceeds of corruption, according to the EFCC.

Fani-Kayode was accused of directly using parts of the money at various times, including N250,650,000.00, which he allegedly used between March 20 and 25, 2015.

He was also accused of making a cash transaction of N24m with one Olubode Oke, said to still be at large, on February 12, 2015 “to Paste Poster Co of 125, Lewis Street, Lagos Island.”

The duo were said to have made the transaction without going through any financial institution, an act the EFCC claimed was contrary to sections 1(a) and 16(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012, and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the same Act.

The defendants pleaded not guilty.