Corruption trial: Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia lied about N8m payment - EFCC
- The corruption trial of Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia before a Lagos high court, resumed on Friday, January 26
- She is being prosecuted by the EFCC for alleged bribery and unlawful enrichment
- Also facing prosecution is a senior lawyer, Godwin Obla, who was accused of giving the judge a bribe of N5 million
Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia's corruption trial before a Lagos state high court, continued on Friday, January 26, with the prosecution alleging that N8 million was paid into her company's account on February 4, 2015, Premium Times reports.
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Legit.ng gathered that according to the 12th prosecution witness and, Abdullahi Lawal's statement to the court, when Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia, a serving judge of the Federal High Court, was confronted with her statement of account in respect of the N8 million payment, she lied about the source and the purpose of the payment.
The judge is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged bribery and unlawful enrichment. She was also accused by the anti-graft agency of receiving a total of $793,800 in several tranches from different sources between 2012 and 2015.
A senior lawyer, Godwin Obla, who was accused of giving the judge a bribe of N5 million, is also being prosecuted. But the two defendants had pleaded not guilty.
At the resumed trial on Friday, January 26, Lawal, an investigator with the EFCC, told the presiding judge, Justice Hakeem Oshodi, that in the course of investigation, the EFCC discovered a payment of N8 million into the account of Nigel and Colive Limited, a company belonging to Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia.
He said: “She (Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia) was confronted about that payment where she mentioned that the money was from the sale of her land at Abeokuta. She said the land was sold to two people, she first mentioned one Haruna Abdullahi and later mentioned that the land was sold to one Tola.
“Our investigation revealed that Haruna was a bureau de change operator in Lagos here and there was no such transaction between the parties; whereas Tola was a building contractor; he was the contractor that handled the building of her residence at Parkview Estate and there was no form of land transaction between them.
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“The payment of N8m was done by one Grand B Limited. There was no transaction between Grand B Ltd and Nigel and Colive."
Justice Oshodi adjourned further proceedings till February 23, 2018.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Justice Hakeem Oshodi of the Lagos state high court sitting in Ikeja, admitted a new set of evidence in a document tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, a serving Federal High Court judge.
The embattled Ofili-Ajumogobia is standing trial alongside Godwin Obla, a senior lawyer, on a 30-count charge bordering on an alleged pe*version of the course of justice, unlawful enrichment and forgery.
The EFCC stage a walk against corruption - on Legit.ng TV
Source: Legit.ng
