Court arraigns Ogun speaker, two others for money laundering
The Ogun State House of Assembly Speaker, Olakunle Oluomo and two others were on Tuesday, September 6, remanded in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) custody by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos State over a reported N2.475 billion money laundering.
Justice Daniel Osiagor ordered that they should be remanded for one week in the EFCC’s custody, adding that if they failed to meet up with the bail condition, they would be remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Service, according to The PUNCH…….Continue Reading
The EFCC on Tuesday, September 6, arraigned the Speaker over alleged N2.475bn money laundering.
The speaker was arraigned alongside three others who are Oladayo Samuel, Adeyemo Adedeji Taiwo, and Adeyanju Amoke (now at large) on 11 counts of conspiracy, forgery, theft, and money laundering lodged against them by the EFCC.
EFCC prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, informed the court that the defendants committed the alleged offenses between 2019 and 2022.
He said the incident was carried out in Ogun State and that they allegedly stole the sum of N2.475bn from the treasury of Ogun State House of Assembly.
When the charge was read to the defendants, they pleaded not guilty.
When the matter came up for arraignment on Tuesday, September 6, Mr. Kehinde Ogunwunmiju, SAN, appeared for the first defendant while Akinyemi Aremu appeared for the second defendant and Oluwole Aladedoye for the third defendant.
On September 1, 2022, the EFFC’s Lagos Head of Legal Monitoring Unit, Rotimi Oyedepo, filed the charge at the Federal High Court, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The Commission said its intention was to arrange at least 10 witnesses to testify and tender documents and exhibits.
The list of the witnesses includes Adamu Usman Yusuf, Otitoju Moses Kolawale, Yazid Ahmad Bawa, Anyanwu Bright, Adekunbi Mojibola, Munkaila Huzaifa and Idowu Oluseyi Olarenwaju.
Others are representatives of Ashkash Nigeria limited, representatives of Obasanjo Holdings Limited (managers of the NNPC Mega Station), and representatives of Gateway Bank limited.
The Ogun State High Court had on Monday, September 6, granted the application of the Commission for the case to be heard at the Federal High Court in Lagos by the vacation judge.
EFCC had earlier released the Speaker on bail, but he returned back to the Lagos office of the commission on Monday, September 5, with other officials of the State House of Assembly, especially the clerk and accountant for further interrogation.
The first defendant’s counsel, Ogunwunmiju, SAN, informed the court that he had filed a bail application but was yet to be before the court.
While moving their applications for bail for the defendants, the first defendant’s counsel, Igunwumiju (SAN), urged the court to grant the first defendant bail in liberal terms, adding that Oluomo willingly returned to the EFCC office in Lagos on Monday, after he was granted administrative bail on Friday, September 2, 2022.
Justice Osiagor, while ruling on the bail application, admitted the first defendant to bail in the sum of N300 million, with two sureties in like sum; one of whom must not be less than a level 16 civil servant in the federal civil service.
The second and third defendants were also granted bail but in the sum of N100 million each with two sureties each in like sum, one of whom must not be less than level 14 in the civil service.
He said all the sureties must possess landed property within the court’s jurisdiction and Title documents were to be deposited with the court’s register.
The sureties must also possess three-year tax clearance certificates and swear to an affidavit of means.
