A Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday dismissed an application filed by a former Minister of Aviation Femi Fani-kayode, seeking transfer of a money laundering case against him.
Fani-Kayode is charged alongside a former Minister of State for Finance, Nenadi Usman, former National Chairman of the Association of Local Government in Nigeria (ALGON) Yusuf Danjuma, and a company, Jointrust Dimensions Ltd.
The accused are charged by The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 17 counts of alleged N4.6billion money laundering case.
EFCC alleged the offences contravened the provisions of sections 15 (3) (4), 16 (2) (b), and 16 (5) of the Money laundering (prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012.
The accused persons have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At the last adjourned date on June 21, defence counsel, Norrisson Quakers, SAN, had prayed the court to transfer the case to its Abuja division, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate on the matter.
But EFCC’s lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, opposed the application and urged the court to refuse it on the grounds that the transactions as well as cheques and receipts in furtherance of same, were done in Lagos.
Oyedepo thereafter urged the court to dismiss the application for transfer and described it as a mere waste of the court’s time.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, Justice Aikawa, in his ruling, held that some of the authorities cited by defence counsel, were delivered before the enactment of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, which he noted had provided exceptions to the issues of venue of court.
The court also ruled on an application for objection raised by defence counsel on the last adjourned date, challenging the tendering of photocopies of payment receipts by PW1, who began giving testminony on June 7.
Aikawa held that it was not the business of the court to concern itself with whether or not a document is original, so long as the document sought to be tendered, is duly certified.
The court accordingly, dismissed the objections, admitted the receipts in evidence and marked same as exhibits 3 and 3A respectively.
The court then called on prosecution to continue with the examination of his first witness.
Meanwhile, defence counsel, Quakers, sought for an adjournment to enable him study the exhibits and prepare his cross examination.
The court granted the request and adjourned the case to September 27 for cross examination and continuation of trial.
