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Peoples Daily, friday, may 16, 2014
News
Money Laundering: Ibori has case to answer- Appeal Court
By Joy Baba
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ix years after Justice Marcel Awokulehin sensationally struck out all 170-count charge of money laundering preferred against former governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) a threeman panel of justices at the Benin Division of the Court of Appeal today, yesterday ruled that the exgovernor, who is currently serving a 13-year jail term in a London prison, has a case to answer. The unanimous decision of court
setting aside the infamous ruling of Justice Awokulehin was delivered by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa and was supported by Justices P. M Ekpe and H. A Barka respectively. A statement signed by the commission’s Head of media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, said, displeased with the controversial ruling by Justice Awokulehin, then of the Federal High Court, Asaba, the EFCC had approached the appellate court to set aside the judgment on the grounds that the court erred in law. The statement said the appeal was predicated on four grounds.
One: that the trial judge looked at the proof of evidence and evaluated same as if the prosecution had called all its witnesses and trial, has been concluded. Secondly, that the procedure is by way of summary trial and not trial by indictment or information. That the proof of evidence clearly shows a prima facie case has been disclosed against the accused/ respondent and that His Lordship erred when he held that no case was disclosed against the accused/ respondent Fourthly, that the judgment is unwarranted, unreasonable
and against the weight of proof of evidence filed by the prosecution in support of the charges. Holding that the appeal was meritorious, the statement said Justice Salauwa, resolved all the four issues for determination in favour of the EFCC and directed that the matter be re-assigned to another judge of the Federal High Court for continuation of trial. “With this judgment, the coast is clear for Ibori to face trial in Nigeria upon the completion of his jail term in London. Other respondents in the case are Udoamaka Okoronkwo and Chinedu Ebie” the statement added.
L-R: Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Nunayon Amosu, Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin, Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Kenneth Minimah, and Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, during their meeting with National Assembly members on the proposed extension of state of emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa
Court remands unemployed man for hemp smoking
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n unemployed man, Abubakar Mohammed, 26, of no fixed address, was remanded in Keffi prison custody on Tuesday for vagabond behaviour and hemp smoking. A Grade 1 Area Court in Aso Pada, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, presided over by Mr. Albert Maga, gave the order after the accused pleaded guilty to the two-count charge leveled against him. Earlier, the prosecutor, PC Friday Adaji, told the court that Cpl. Dalami Moses of `A’ Divisional Police Station, Mararaba, arrested the accused after a tip-off. Adaji said the accused was found smoking Indian hemp, and was arrested and detained, but he attempted to escape before he was caught and brought back to the cell. He said the offences contravened the provisions of sections 192 and 172 of the Penal Code. The accused may get up to eight-year prison term if convicted of all the charges. Maga adjourned the case until May 22 for ruling on the bail application by the accused. (NAN)
Crime gangs launder N22.4tr yearly through sports betting – Report
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riminals are using betting on sports events to launder $140 billion (N 22.4 trillion) each year, a report said yesterday, exposing a lack of effective regulation which has allowed matchfixing to spread. The report identified football and cricket as the sports most threatened by criminals seeking to rig the
gambling market, but tennis, basketball, motor racing and badminton were also affected. ``The rapid evolution of the global sports betting market has seen an increased risk of infiltration by organised crime and money laundering,” said Chris Eaton of the Centre for Sports Security (ICSS) in Qatar. The report, compiled by the ICSS and the Sorbonne in
Paris, said 80 per cent of global sports betting were being carried out on illegal markets. This has placed it beyond the reach of regulators and investigators. A number of football leagues have been hit by match-fixing scandals in recent years. Three Pakistani cricketers were jailed for a plot to deliberately bowl no balls
during a test match against England at Lord’s in 2010. Technology and live television have transformed the sports betting market in recent years, allowing viewers to bet on a wider range of events. This has also allowed them to gamble in real time as a match progresses. Eaton, a former head of
security at FIFA, said the changes have made suspect betting patterns harder to spot. Among solutions the report recommended are a sports betting tax to finance investigations into matchfixing, and closer co-operation between betting companies and sporting bodies. (Reuters/NAN)
N5bn property theft: Court remands ex-Chevron accountant in prison
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n Ikeja High Court yesterday remanded a former accountant with Chevron Nigeria Ltd, Michael Adenuga, in prison over an alleged fraudulent conversion of landed property worth N5 billion. Justice Sedoten Ogunsanya remanded Adenuga, 50, at the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons, Apapa, Lagos, after his arraignment by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adenuga was arraigned alongside his company, Covenant Apartment Complex Ltd. The defendants are facing a three-count charge bordering on stealing, forgery and use of false documents. The EFCC counsel, Mr. Jamiu
Musa, alleged that they had between February 2008 and September 2011, fraudulently converted to their own use, a land measuring about 22.68 hectares. Musa said the property, situated at Ayetoro, Ikota in the Lekki area of Lagos, was jointly owned by Covenant Sugarland Property Development Ltd and Messrs Sunday and Joseph Oyeniran.
He also accused the defendant of forging a document titled, ``Contract of Sale between Covenant Apartment Ltd and Kingview Realty Ltd,” to facilitate the theft. According to him, the said document was later presented by Adenuga to an EFCC officer, Mr. James Buzugbe, as genuine. Jamiu said the defendant’s alleged offences contravened
Sections 278 (1) and 285 (b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. Adenuga, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge. In a short ruling, the judge turned down the request and ordered that both parties should return to the court on May 21 to argue the bail application. She also fixed July 13 and July 14 for trial. (NAN)