EFCC Loses as Court Revokes N21bn Money Laundering Charge Against Former Air Chief, Amosun
- The N21.5bn money laundry charges filed against a former Chief of Air Staff, Adesola Amosun, and two others have been dismissed.
- Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos gave the judgement in his ruling on Tuesday, February 6.
- Aneke quashed the amended charges against the defendants and declared the investigation of Amosun as null and void.
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering metro and government policy.
Lagos state - The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has quashed the N21.5bn money laundry charges preferred against a former Chief of Air Staff, Adesola Amosun, and two others, former NAF Chief of Accounts and Budgeting, Air Vice Marshal Jacob Adigun, and former Director of Finance and Budget, Air Commodore Gbadebo Olugbenga.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had on June 29, 2016, arraigned Amosun on a 26-count charge for alleged conspiracy and conversion of the funds belonging to the NAF to their personal use, The Punch reported.
Source: UGC
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke quashed the amended charges against the defendants and declared the investigation of Amosun dated January 30, 2015, null and void.
PAY ATTENTION: Share your outstanding story with our editors! Please reach us through info@corp.legit.ng!
In his ruling on Tuesday, February 6, Aneke upheld a preliminary objection filed by the defence challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the case.
According to Premium Times, the preliminary objection was anchored because the defendants were serving as military officers at the time they were charged.
“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.”
EFCC deceived me to admit involvement
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Ahmed Idris, former accountant-general of the federation (AGF), accused EFCC of deceiving him to admit to the allegations against him.
Idris was accused of siphoning public funds to the tune of about N109.4 billion. In a new twist on Thursday, February 1, Idris claimed that the EFCC obtained his statement under duress.
Countering Idris' claim, EFCC's lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), applied to tender video evidence that contained a recorded interview of the first (Idris) to third defendants at the commission’s monitoring unit chairman’s office as an exhibit before the court.
PAY ATTENTION: Donate to Legit Charity on Patreon. Your support matters!
Source: Legit.ng
