A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has on Tuesday remanded in prison custody the ex- Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode and two others over an alleged fraud of N4.9bn.
The presiding Judge, Justice Suleiman Hassan said that Fani-Kayode, Nenadi Usman and Danjuma Yusuf will remain in prison custody until the application of their bail is confirmed after the hearing on Friday.
The 17 counts charges filed against Fani-Kayode, Usman and Yusuf by the EFCC border on conspiracy, unlawful retention of proceeds of theft and money laundering.
Fani-Kayode, was accused of conspiring with the rest to keep various sums that came from the proceeds of theft. It would be recalled that Fani-Kayode was the spokesperson for former President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential campaign organisation for the 2015 election.
The accused persons were said to have allegedly committed the offences between January 8, 2015 and March 25, 2015 in the build-up to the general elections.
In one of the counts, the EFCC alleged that Fani-Kayode, who it listed as the 2nd defendant in the charge sheet, and his co-defendants conspired among themselves to “indirectly retain the sum of N1,500, 000,000.00, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: stealing.”
The EFCC prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, told the court that the said conspiracy and indirect retention of the N1.5bn constituted an offence under Section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012, and punishable under Section 15(3)( 4) of the same Act.
Hassan adjourned the case till Friday for hearing of the three bail applications. They were remanded as instructed by the presiding Judge, Justice Suleiman Hassan.
