The federal high court Ikoyi,
Lagos has ruled against the plea of Femi Fani-Kayode, a former minister of
aviation, asking the court to ignore the statement he offered to the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Ridean Aikawa ruled
against Fani-Kayode on Monday during the hearing of the N4.6 billion money laundering
case preferred against him by the anti-graft agency.
Fani-Kayode had distanced himself
from the statements and urged the court not to admit them in evidence.
Fani-Kayode, who was the director
of publicity to the Goodluck Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organisation in
2015, is being tried alongside Nenadi Usman, former Minister of State for
Finance, Yusuf Danjuma, a former council chairman, and Jointrust Dimentions
Nigeria Limited.
The other defendants alongside
Fai-Kayode also disowned their statements.
In their argument before Justice
Aikawa, lawyers to the defence, Ferdinand Orbih (SAN), Norrison Quakers (SAN)
and Clement Onwuenwuenor, prayed the court to issue an order for a
trial-within-trial, to test the voluntariness of the statements.
Opposing this plea, Rotimi
Oyedepo, lawyer to the EFCC, insisted that the statements were voluntarily
made, adding that there was no need for a trial-within-trial.
Justice Aikawa agreed with
Oyedepo. He held that a trial-within-trial is only necessary where a statement
sought to be admitted “is manifestly confessional".
“In the present case, none of the
statements is confessional. A trial-within-trial is therefore unnecessary,”
Justice Aikawa said.
The judge also insisted that the
statements complied with the provisions of Section 17 (1) and (2) of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), which provides that someone must
be present to witness a statement.
The anti-graft agency had accused
Fani-Kayode and others of violating the Money Laundering Act by indirectly
retaining N300 million, N400 million, and N800 million, all proceeds of
corruption.
Count one of the charge read:
“That you, Nenadi Esther Usman, Femi Fani-Kayode, Danjuman Yusuf and Jointrust
Dimentions Nigeria Ltd on or about the 8th day of January, 2015, within the
jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired amongst yourselves 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.”
Also, Fani-Kayode was accused of
making a cash transaction of N24million with one Olubode Oke, said to still be
at large, on February 12, 2015 “to Paste Poster Company of 125, Lewis Street,
Lagos Island,” contrary to the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
But the defendants argued before
Justice Aikawa that they are not guilty.
The matter was adjourned until
July 4.
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