Ikuforiji: EFCC Witness Tenders Damning Evidence in Court

SAN FRANCISCO, December 17, (THEWILL) – Justice Okechukwu Okeke of the Federal High Court, Lagos has fixed February 18, 19, 20 and 21, 2013 for continuation of trial in the money laundering charge preferred against the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji and his personal assistant, Oyebode Alade Atoyebi by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

At the resumed hearing on Monday, Adebayo Adeniyi, an operative of the EFCC, while being led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Godwin Obla, told the court that in the course of investigation, his team recovered some registers from the Account Department of the Lagos State House of Assembly. The names of the registers were WEMA register, ETB register, Bulk Register and Chico Registers. The registers, he explained, were used for financial transactions by the Accounts Department of the State House of Assembly. These registers he further told the court showed the signatures, names of recipients, date, amount and mode of payments- cash or cheques.

He said they discovered that cash payments above the approved limit were made to or given to the first accused through the second accused person. He told the court that the second accused person admitted collecting cash payments on behalf of the 1st accused.

The documents were admitted by the court as exhibits.

However further examination of the witness could not go on as original copies of the documents which were in possession of the court could not be produced as the keys to the safe were said not to be available.

Ikuforiji and his personal assistant were on March 1, 2012 arraigned on a 20 count charge of allegedly conspiring to committee an illegal act of accepting cash payments amounting to N273,303,780 (two hundred and seventy three million, three hundred and three thousand, seven hundred and eighty naira) from the Lagos State House of Assembly without going through a financial institution, thereby committing an offence contrary to sections 18(a) of the money laundering (prohibition) Act 2011 and punishable under sections 16(2) (b) of the same act.