Former minister of aviation fani kayode charged with money laundry

A Federal High Court, Lagos, on Monday, ruled
that the amended money laundering charges
preferred against a former Minister of Aviation, Mr.
Femi Fani-Kayode, were in order.
Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, who ordered Fani-
Kayode to take his plea to the charges, ruled that
the accused person’s objection to the re-
arraignment lacked merit.
She ordered that the re-arraignment for 40 counts
of money laundering would hold on March 5.
The re-arraignment had been stalled on January
27, 2014 after the first among the amended 40
counts of money laundering instituted against the
accused was read to him.

The re-arraignment is to be the fourth since 2008,
when the matter was first filed.
Fani-Kayode, through his counsel, Mr. Ifedayo
Adedipe (SAN), had objected to the re-
arraignment, challenging the competence of the
amended charges.
The prosecution, in the amended charges,
accused Fani-Kayode of money laundering
involving about N99m, contrary to the 47 counts
involving N230m earlier instituted against him.
But Fani-Kayode’s lawyer had interrupted the
reading of the charges to the accused, challenging
their validity, saying they contravened Section 167
of the Criminal Procedure Act.
Adedipe had said, “The accused person is alleged
to have received money from a nameless and
anonymous person.
“The accused was said to have accepted cash
payments of over N10m without stating the donor
of the said money. We have to know the person
so that we can know who to address. As it is, the
charge is vague.”
He also contended that all other counts preferred
against his client stipulated that the accused
person was alleged to have “accepted various
sums of money, without mentioning the names of
the persons from whom the sums were received.”
He argued that the charges were invalid and
oppressive.
But the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Festus Keyamo,
insisted that since the charges touched on money
laundering, the sums of money involved were from
unknown sources, which he said was what
distinguished money laundering from stealing.
Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia, in her ruling on Monday,
agreed with Keyamo, saying in a money
laundering charge, the giver of the money must
not necessarily be specified.
“The giver must not be stated. I agree that it’s the
inability to trace the source of the money that
forms the element of the charge,” the judge said.
According to her, the defence counsel was wrong
in his arguments.
“It’s an abject misconception for the defence
counsel to raise the objection,” Justice Ofili-
Ajumogobia held.
The judge that further held that the fact that it was
merely stated that Fani-Kayode received money
without stating who gave it to him does not in any
way invalidate the charge.