Ex-Oyo governor Ladoja appears in court over alleged money laundering

Emerging reports have claimed that the former Oyo state governor, Rashidi Ladoja, on Tuesday, November 27, appeared at the Federal High Court, Lagos over alleged money laundering.

Channel TV reports that Ladoja is standing trial on an eight count charge alongside Waheed Akanbi, who served under him as the state commissioner for finance.

In the charges, Ladoja and Akanbi were accused of converting a sum of N1,932,940,032.48 belonging to the state to their personal own, using a bank account of a company, Heritage Apartments Limited.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) claimed that they retained the money sometime in 2007, despite their knowledge that it was proceeds of a criminal conduct.

In another instance, Ladoja was accused of removing a sum of £600,000 from the state coffers in 2007 and sent it to Bimpe Ladoja, who was at the time in London.

He was also accused of converting a sum of N42m belonging to the state to his own and subsequently used it to purchase an armoured Land Cruiser jeep.

The former governor was also accused of converting a sum of N728,600,000 and another N77,850,000 at separate times in 2007 to his own.

The commission noted that Ladoja transferred the N77, 850,000 to one Bistrum Investments, which he nominated to help him purchase a property named Quarter 361, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The EFCC told the court that Ladoja and Akanbi acted contrary to sections 17(a) and18 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 and were liable to be punished under sections 14(1), 16(a) (b) and 18(2) of the same Act.

Meanwhile,the National Industrial Court in Abuja dismissed a suit instituted by state coordinators of defunct against the federal government asking for compensation for the loss of their jobs.

Justice Rakiya Haastrup dismissed the suit on Wednesday, June 20, on the grounds that it was statute barred. The suit is statute barred, it means it is no longer legally enforceable because the prescribed period for legal action had elapsed.

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Confirmation of EFCC secretary suspended by Senate

The confirmation of Olanipekun Olukoyede as secretary of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been suspended by the Senate.

A member of the Senate committee on anti-corruption and financial crimes, Isa Misau had earlier accused the committee of preparing a report without the consent of others, 

Our source gathers that the lawmaker complained that the endorsement page report was signed by only three out of eight members of the committee.

He said: “Let’s step down this report so that we, the members of the committee can go through it. Because I participated actively in the screening of these nominees and there are some of them that are not competent to hold that office.

“I’m just seeing this report. It has not been sent to my office and I was part of the screening and during the screening, I made objections on certain people that are not supposed to hold that office to be screened. It is necessary for us to look at the report."

The chairman of the committee, Chukwuka Utazi, who urged the Senate to confirm Olukoyede, said: “Most of the committee members are busy with oversight. We wrote every member to be in attendance. What Misau attended was the ICPC screening. He attended and participated but he did not attend this one.

“We gave the notice to everybody to attend; and at the end of the day, the number of people who attended, formed quorum and took the decision on behalf of the committee (signed)."

Utazi was thereafter asked by the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, to meet with his members later in the day, conclude and re-present the report on Wednesday, November 28.

President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Olanipekun Olukoyede, the chief of staff to the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, as the secretary of the commission.

The president in a letter to the Senate requested that Olukoyede's nomination be confirmed as secretary of the EFCC.

The letter dated September 10, 2018, and addressed to Senate president, Bukola Saraki, asked that Olukoyede be confirmed in accordance with Section 2 of the EFCC Act.

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