A Lagos Division of the Federal High Court has adjourned till
December 17 the arraignment of the managing director of Fidelity Bank
Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo, and an executive director at First Bank, Dauda
Lawal, for allegedly assisting Diezani Alison-Madueke to conceal $153
million in 2015.
They are facing a 14-count charge of conspiracy and money laundering before Muslim Hassan, a federal judge.
Mrs
Alison-Madueke, the immediate past petroleum minister who is still out
of the country, is also facing multiple charges of money laundering.
Last
week, an Abuja court granted the EFCC leave to arraign her and a former
chairman of Atlantic Energy Drilling company, Jide Omokore, in February
next year.
The arraignment of the bank chiefs, who were charged
alongside Lanre Adesanya and Stanley Lawson, was originally scheduled
for Monday but the judge adjourned to enable the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission to serve the charge sheet to all the defendants.
Wahab Shittu, counsel to the EFCC, requested the adjournment to serve Messrs Okonkwo and Adesanya.
Hassan
Liman, a senior advocate of Nigeria and counsel to Mr Lawal, told the
judge that his client had been in EFCC custody since November 29 and
prayed that he admitted to bail.
But in a bench
ruling, Muslim Hassan, the judge, said he lacked jurisdiction to grant
Mr Liman’s request as the defendants were yet to be arraigned.
He directed that Mr Lawal be taken back to the custody of the EFCC till December 17.
According
to the charge sheet, Messrs Okonkwo and Lawson, Mrs Alison-Madueke, and
Ben Otti, a former group executive director (finance and account) at
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation conspired among themselves
to conceal $153.3 million in Fidelity Bank.
The defendants
are also accused of using $25 million to acquire a property known as
Ogeyi Place Hotel situated at GRA Phase 2, Port Harcourt, in 2015.
They
are further accused of transferring $65 million to Lawal and procured
one Adewale Fayemi to take possession of $8.3 million and $80 million
without going through a financial institution.
In count 12,
Mr Okonkwo was accused of failing to report a suspicious transaction
amounting to $80 million to the EFCC while in count 14, Mr Lawal was
charged with refraining to report a $65 million suspicious transaction
to the commission
Source:- Premiumtimesng
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