Apparently not satisfied with the decision of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, presided over by Justice Mohammed, which acquitted the former Lagos State Speaker of the House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, of money laundering charges, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has instituted an appeal against the decision.
The anti-graft agency had arraigned Ikuforiji alongside his former aide, Oyebode Atoyebi, on a 54-count charge bordering on alleged N338.8 million money laundering.
But Justice Liman, on June 24, 2024, acquitted Ikuforiji of the charge.
Not contented with the judgment, the anti-graft agency initiated a Notice of Appeal questioning the judgment.
According to the Notice of Appeal filed before the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, counsel for the EFCC, Ekene Ihenacho insisted that the trial court erred in law when it held that the charge under count one did not present a potential legal issue.
The lawyer who contended that the trial judge erred in law by holding that the prosecution’s case hinged on transactions that purportedly exceeded the thresholds of N500,000/N5 million for individuals, and N2 million/10 million for corporate entities under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act of 2004 and 2011, argued that the lower court ignored the evidence presented by the prosecution which showed that the respondents made and accepted cash payments above the prescribed thresholds.
The anti-graft agency’s lawyer maintained that the oral and documentary evidence adduced during the trial showed that Ikuforiji and Atoyebi made and accepted cash payments without passing through financial institutions, in contravention of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act of 2004 and 2011.
Iheanacho posited that the lower court did not obey the decision of appellate courts in the case of FRN versus Ikuforiji (2016), Ikuforiji versus FRN (2018) and Atoyebi versus FRN (2018).
While maintaining that in those cases, the ingredients of the offences as charged, were laid down by the appellate courts, Iheanacho declared that the lower court failed to appreciate both the case of the appellant and the ingredients of the offences under which the respondents failed trial.
More so, Iheanacho averred that the aforementioned case had been adjudicated upon by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Courts which held that the appellant made out a prima facie case against Ikuforiji and Atoyebi.
As of the time of filing this report, no date has been fixed for the hearing of the appeal.
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