After asking for two adjournments in the money laundering case it filed against former President Goodluck Jonathan’s cousin, Azibaola Robert and wife, Stella, the EFCC has now adjusted the charges it earlier preferred against them from seven to nine, apparently to ensure its able to present witnesses on tomorrow’s adjourned date.
In the two new additional charges filed on April 20, 2017, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has now name two companies it may likely bring to serve as prosecution witnesses when the case comes up before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court on Wednesday.
None of these companies was listed as witnesses in the earlier seven count charge base on which the accused persons were arraigned in June 2016. In the amended case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/113/2016, the prosecution has added the names of Capital Field Investment and Trust Limited and Teledom International Limited as new firms, which Oneplus transferred forex which the commission alleges money laundry against Azibaola and wife.
The commission contends that the transfers form part of proceeds of $40 million, which their company, Oneplus, allegedly illegally got from the office of the National Security Adviser.
Count 8 reads: “That you, Azibaola Robert (M), being the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) and a signatory to the Zenith Bank account of ONE PLUS HOLDINGS NIG. LTD, Mrs. Stella Azibaola Robert, being a director and a signatory to the Zenith Bank account of ONE PLUS HOLDINGS NIG. LTD and ONE PLUS HOLDINGS NIG. LTD on or about the 22nd April, 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did directly transfer the sum of US$2, 000, 000. 00 being part of the sum of US$39, 999, 958. 00 out of the total sum of US$40, 000, 000.0.0 transferred to the domiciliary account of ONE PLUS HOLDINGS NIG. LTD with Zenith Bonk Plc, Account No. 5070365750 from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser with the Central Bank of Nigeria upon a transfer mandate Ref. No. 128/S.5LX/139 purporting to be for the supply of Tactical Communication Kits for Special Forces to the Zenith bank account of CAPlTALFIELD INVESTMENT & TRUST. LTD, which you knew or reasonably ought to have known that the said fund represented the proceeds of an unlawful activity of Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (Rtd), the then Notional Security Adviser, (to wit: criminal breach of. trust and corruption) and thereby commuted on offence contrary to Section 15(2) (b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section 15(3) and (4) of the same Act.
COUNT 9 reads: “That you, Azibaola Robert (M), being the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) and a signatory to the Zenith Bonk account of ONE PLUS HOLDINGS NIG. LTD, Mrs. Stella Azibaolo Robert, being a director and a signatory to the Zenith Bank account of ONE PLUS HOLDINGS NIG. LTD and ONE PLUS HOLDINGS NIG. LTD on or about the 17th December, 2014 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did directly transfer the sum of US$330, 000. 00 being part of the sum of US$39, 999, 958. 00 out of the total sum of US$40, 000, 000.00 transferred to the domiciliary account of ONE PLUS HOLDINGS NIG. LTD with Zenith Bank Plc, Account No. 5070365750 from the account of the Office of the National Security Adviser with the Central Bank of Nigeria upon a transfer mandate Ref. No. 1 28/S.5LX/139 purporting to be for the supply of Tactical Communication Kits for Special Forces to the Zenith bank account of TELEDOM INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, which you knew or reasonably ought to have known that the said fund represented the proceeds of an unlawful activity of Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (Rtd), the then National Security Adviser, (to wit: criminal breach of trust and corruption) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15(2) (b) of the Money laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended in2012 and punishable under Section 15(3) and (4) of the same Act.”
But before the amendment of the charges, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had on the last trial date on March 13, 2017 pleaded with Justice Dimgba to adjourn the case for the second time on the grounds that it could not immediately produce the six witnesses it intended to call. EFCC lawyer, Mr. Francis Jirbo, pleaded with trial Justice Dimgba to grant the anti-graft agency one more indulgence by further adjourning the case on that date to enable it to get the witnesses.
“My lord, we seek the court’s indulgence to enable the prosecution make the last independent efforts to get its witnesses to court in the manner and sequence it intended”. “We do not want to call our witnesses in a haphazard manner. We have sequence and how we want the evidence to flow.
We do not just want to call anybody. We want the court to give us the last to produce our next witness,” the EFCC lawyer pleaded.
The case comes up tomorrow (today) and it is not clear if the anti-graft agency had secured the number of witnesses to proceed with case or will call for further adjournment, a development that might force the defence to apply for the dismissal of the charges. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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