The Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday quashed the N21.5bn money laundry charges preferred against a former Chief of Air Staff, Adesola Amosun, and two others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The EFCC had on June 29, 2016, arraigned Amosun alongside a
former Nigeria Air Force Chief of Accounts and Budgeting, Air Vice Marshal
Jacob Adigun, and a former Director of Finance and Budget, Air Commodore
Gbadebo Olugbenga, on a 26-count charge.
But they were re-arraigned before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke
in a 13-count amended charge marked FHC/L/280C/16 on money laundering to the
tune of N21.5bn.
The defendants were prosecuted for alleged conspiracy and
conversion of the funds belonging to the NAF to their personal use.
In a ruling on Tuesday on the application filed by the
defendants asking the court to quash the charge brought against them, Justice
Aneke granted their prayers, by upholding a preliminary objection challenging
the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the case on the grounds that the
defendants were serving officers of the military at the time
Defence counsel had argued that the defendants were,
therefore, only subject to trial by a court-martial, since they were still
officers during the period
The judge held, “As officers of the armed forces, they ought
to have been first investigated by the armed forces and tried rather than
charging them before this court.”
He declared the investigation of Amosun dated January 30,
2015, null and void.
Justice Aneke also quashed the amended charges against the
defendants.
Details later.
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