Trial Of Ex-AGF Adoke Resumes In Abuja

The trial of Mohammed Adoke, the former Attorney-General of the Federation has resumed in Abuja.

The former Minister of Justice will be arraigned today alongside Aliyu Abubakar who is an Abuja based businessman, before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court.

Recall that the former AGF and Abubakar during the last proceeding pleaded not guilty to a 14-count charge filed against them bordering on money laundering.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had in June filed an additional seven charges against Adoke over money laundering allegations involving about N400 million.

The trail of the former Minister was expected to commence last week but it was hindered due to the  Mamended charges.

The initial charge contained seven counts, with six of them relating to Mr. Adoke.

At the resumed trial, the prosecutor, Bala Sanga, informed the court of an amended charge he filed on July 29 which was served on all the defendants.

The trial judge, Justice Ekwo who frowned at the late filing of the amended charge adjourned the trial till Tuesday on the ground that he is yet to sight the amended charges.

In the former seven counts, the EFCC alleged that the defendants committed the money laundering offences involving over N400 million in Abuja in September 2013.

In the counts relating to Mr Adoke, he was accused of among others, receiving the dollar equivalent of N300 million from Abubakar, paying the dollar equivalent of N367,318,800 to one Usman Mohammed Bello, and allegedly using the sum of N300 million, which was alleged to be part of the proceeds of unlawful activities, all in violations of various provisions of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011.

He was also accused of making “structured cash payments, in 22 tranches” amounting to N80 million, another of such structured payments in 13 tranches summing up to N50 million into his Unity Bank account.

The commission alleged that the funds were not only part of the proceeds of unlawful acts but they also exceeded “thresholds outside a financial institution,” and that the payments were done with the intention of concealing the origins of the funds contrary to Section 15(2(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 and punishable under section 15(3) of the same law.