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EFCC presents 108 bank cheques in Fani-Kayode N4.9bn fraud trial
EFCC presents 108 bank cheques in Fani-Kayode N4.9bn fraud trial
CORRUPTION
The Nigerian Record
7/6/20192 min read
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has submitted 108 bank cheques as evidence against former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode in an alleged N4.9 billion fraud case linked to the 2015 general election.
The cheques were tendered before Justice Rilwan Aikawa on Thursday at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, during proceedings in the money-laundering and fraud trial.
Fani-Kayode, former Finance Minister Nenadi Esther Usman, former ALGON Chairman Danjuma Yusuf, and the company Joint Trust Dimensions Limited face a 17-count charge of conspiracy, unlawful retention of proceeds of crime, and money laundering.
Prosecutors allege the defendants retained large sums they should have known were proceeds of unlawful acts. Specific counts include the indirect retention of N1.5 billion, N300 million, N400 million, and N800 million. Fani-Kayode is also accused of directly using portions of the funds, including N250.65 million between 20–25 March 2015, and making a N24 million cash payment to one Olubode Oke (still at large) on 12 February 2015 for poster pasting without using a financial institution.
All defendants have pleaded not guilty.
EFCC investigator Shuaibu Shehu, testifying under prosecutor Rotimi Oyedepo, told the court the 108 cheques were recovered during the investigation. Justice Aikawa admitted them as Exhibit 11 (1–108). Shehu said 103 of the cheques named Fani-Kayode as beneficiary and were drawn on his account at a new-generation bank. Of these, 100 were cash withdrawals, with 96 coming from Fani-Kayode’s own account. Individual amounts cited included N2 million, N5.1 million, N5.65 million, and N3.55 million. Other cheques included N22 million to one Onigbinde (16 March 2015), N20.34 million to Ojeifo Sofia (February 2015), and N10 million to Jariley Limited (30 January 2015).
Shehu further stated that Joint Trust Dimensions Limited issued cheques for N393 million, N250 million, and N240 million with instructions for the funds to be paid into Fani-Kayode’s account. He linked earlier deposits of N300 million, N400 million, and N800 million in the company’s account to accounts belonging to the Ministry of External Affairs’ Research Library and Research Capital Accounts.
After Shehu’s evidence-in-chief, the prosecution sought to tender the Ministry of External Affairs’ statement of accounts, related documents, and a certificate of identification. Defence counsel objected. Lawyers for Usman and the company argued the documents were illegible. Fani-Kayode’s counsel, Norrison Quakers (SAN), contended that the computer-generated records did not meet the requirements of Section 84 of the Evidence Act and could only be properly tendered by the bank’s compliance officer, not the EFCC investigator. He also argued the documents were not properly certified public documents.
Prosecutor Oyedepo maintained that an investigating officer may tender documents recovered in the course of investigation and that certified true copies of public documents carry a presumption of regularity. He cited supporting case law.
Justice Aikawa reserved ruling on the admissibility of the contested documents and adjourned the matter to 29 October 2019 for the ruling and continuation of trial.