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| Femi Fani Kayode |
A Federal High Court in Lagos has
discharged and acquitted a former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, of
corruption charges.
In her judgment, the judge, Rita
Ofili-Ajumogobia, said the prosecution’s case was “feeble” and failed to
provide “copious evidence” linking Mr. Fani-Kayode to money laundering.
Mr. Fani-Kayode, whose trial began
in 2008 before Justice Ramat Mohammed, was arraigned by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for allegedly laundering about N100
million while he was minister of culture and tourism and subsequently, aviation
minister.
The allegedly laundered sum was,
however, reduced to N2.1million on November 17, 2014 after the court dismissed
38 of the 40-count charge levelled against Mr. Fani-Kayode for want of proof.
The EFCC prosecutor, Festus
Keyamo, while urging the court to uphold the remaining two counts and to
accordingly convict Mr. Fani-Kayode, said the former minister failed to
exonerate himself of the allegations.
Mr. Keyamo pointed out that the
object of the charge was that Mr. Fani-Kayode transacted in cash sums above
N500,000, which was the threshold stipulated by the Money Laundering
(Prohibition) Act.
Mr. Keyamo had argued that Mr.
Fani-Kayode admitted making such transactions in his confessional statement of
Dec. 22, 2008 made to the EFCC.
Mr. Keyamo had argued that the
prosecution had discharged its duty once it established that Mr. Fani-Kayode
transacted in large sums above the Money Laundering threshold, adding that it
was left for Mr. Fani-Kayode to explain the source of the money.
“Once you cannot explain the source
of the large sum of money found on you, you are guilty of money laundering. If
the prosecution must show where the money is coming from, then the whole
essence of the money laundering law is defeated.
“It is not in all cases that the
burden of proof lies on the prosecution; the burden at this point shifts to the
accused person,” Mr. Keyamo argued.
But Mr. Fani-Kayode’s lawyer,
Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), in his summary argument, maintained that Mr. Fani-Kayode
made no confession to the EFCC, adding that the anti-graft agency failed to
show that Mr. Fani-Kayode actually accepted a cash sum of N1million as alleged.
Mr. Adedipe said the EFCC also
failed to show to the court the person who handed the cash sum to the accused
person.
He said for the case of the
prosecution to succeed, it had to be proven beyond reasonable doubts.
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