US100,000 Money Laundering: Throw Out Charge Against Me, Shasore Tells Court

The Lagos State former Attorney General (AG) and Justice Commissioner, Olasupo Shasore, SAM, today asked Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of a Federal High Court, Ikoyi, to strike out the money laundering charge slammed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

This is even as the SAN challenged the competence of the court to adjudicate the criminal case against it.

The development has, however, truncated his further trial before the court.

Shasore, SAN, is being prosecuted by the Federal Government of Nigeria, FGN, in a charge designated FHC/L/447C/2022, where he is being accused of accepting, transacting and making payments with a cash payment of the sum of US100,000, without going through a financial institution which such exceeded the amount authorized by law.

According to the anti-graft agency, the offence allegedly committed by the SAN contravenes Sections 78(c), 1(a) and 16(1)(d) and 18(c) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 16(6) and 16(2)(b) of the same Act. 

The former Attorney General had pleaded not guilty to the charge when he was arraigned and was accordingly admitted to bail in the sum of N50 million with one surety in like sum.

Justice Aneke declared that the surety must be a serving Director or a Permanent Secretary in the service of the Federation or the Lagos State government, adding that the Surety must produce two copies each of his or her recent passport photograph and evidence of payment of tax or tax clearance.

The judge had further directed that Shasore, SAN, should deposit his international passport with the court’s registrar pending trial.

At the resumption of the hearing of the charge, counsel for the EFCC, Mr Abba Mohammed, prayed the judge to allow him to call the 8th witness to testify in the matter.

However, Shasore’s lawyers led by Olawale Akoni and Chijioke Okoye, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), told the court that their client has filed an application challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the charge and many others.

The former AG's application challenging the competence of the court is a motion to strike out the charge for want of jurisdiction.”

In the alternative, Shasore is seeking “an order for the prosecution to avail it with all relevant documents in their possession not disclosed or absent from the proof of evidence and needed for a robust defence of the matter.”

However, the prosecutor, Mohammed, told the court that the application was served on his office last Friday after they have closed for work.

While adding that he was just seeing the application 'today’s morning', Mohammed argued that the documents demanded by the defence did not have anything to do with the defendant.

He, however, stated that the defendant’s application cannot stall the scheduled trial, and urged the court to proceed with the trial.

The charge against Shasore reads: “That you Olasupo Shasore, SAN, on or about the 18th day of November 2014 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court induced Olufolakemi Adelore to commit an offence, to wit accepting cash payment of the sum of US100, 000.00 (One Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) without going through a financial institution which such exceeded the amount authorized by law, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 78(c) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 16(6) of the same Act.

“That you Olasupo Shasore, SAN, on or about the 18th day of November 2014 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, in a transaction without going through a financial institution, made a cash payment of the sum of USD 100, 000. 00 (One Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) to Olufolakemi Adelore through Auwalu Habu and Wole Aboderin, which sum exceeded the amount permitted by law, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 1(a) and 16(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the same Act.

“That you Olasupo Shasore, SAN, on or about the 18th November 2014, in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, induced one Ikechukwu Oguine, to commit an offence, to wit: accepting case payment of the sum of USD100, 000.00 (One Hundred thousand United States Dollars) without going through a financial institution, which such amount exceeded the amount permitted by law, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 78(c) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 16(6) of the same Act.

“That you Olasupo Shasore, SAN, on or about the 18th day of November 2014 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, without going through a financial institution and made cash payment of the sum of USD100, 000.00 (One Hundred thousand United States Dollars) to one Ikechukwu Oguine which sum exceeded the amount permitted by law, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 1(a) and 16(1), (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act, as amended) and punishable under Section 16 (2)(b) of the same Act.”

The case has been adjourned until April 26, 2023.

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