The coast seems not clear for the embattled speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Adeyemi Ikuforiji as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has appealed the recent ruling of a Federal High Court in Lagos that cleared him of money laundering allegations.
The anti-graft agency in a Notice of Appeal filed before the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal wants the appellate court to allow its appeal and set aside the decision of the trial judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba dated September 26, 2014.
The EFCC also wants the upper court to order a trial ‘de novo’ (fresh trial) before another judge of the Federal High Court, Lagos, instead of Justice Buba.
Justice Buba had discharged Ikuforiji and his personal assistant (PA), Oyebode Atoyebi over allegations of laundering the sum of N500million belonging to the Assembly.
The offences, according to the commission, contravened Sections 15 (1d) and 16(1d) of Money Laundering Act, M.L.A, 2004 and 2011.
Justice Buba had in a ruling on a no case submission filed by the speaker and Atoyebi, held that the EFCC failed to prove any of the ingredients of the crime of money laundering.
He also declared that the EFCC failed to establish a prima-facie case against the accused persons and that the suit was an abuse of court process.
But dissatisfied with the ruling, the EFCC through its counsel, Chief Godwin Obla (SAN) in the Notice of Appeal dated September 30, 2014 wants the Court of Appeal to hold that Justice Buba erred in law, when he held and concluded that counts 2-48 are incompetent, because they were filed pursuant to Section 1(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, which was repealed by the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.