The Federal High Court on Monday acquitted a former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, of money laundering charges that had been filed against him over 12 years ago by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
His then-Personal Assistant and co-defendant, Oyebode Atoyebi, was also acquitted of all 54 charges by Judge Mohammed Liman.
This lengthy trial, which spanned over a decade and involved multiple judges and trips to the Supreme Court, began in March 2012.
The EFCC had charged Ikuforiji and Atoyebi with 54 counts of money laundering, accusing them of conspiring to accept cash payments totaling N338.8 million from the Lagos State House of Assembly without going through a financial institution, thereby violating the Money Laundering Act.
The charges included allegations that Ikuforiji had misused his position to misappropriate funds from the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The offences were said to have occurred between April 2010 and July 2011, contravening sections 15(1d), 16(1d), and 18 of the Money Laundering Act of 2004 and 2011.
In his judgement, Judge Liman dismissed the first count due to discrepancies in the timeline and subsequently struck out the remaining 53 counts, stating that they were charged under a non-existent law.
He emphasized that charging individuals under laws not in effect at the time of the alleged offences is legally invalid.
Judge Liman also highlighted the prosecution’s failure to present sufficient evidence.
He pointed out that the EFCC did not prove the predicate offences—minor offences that are typically concealed through money laundering—which are necessary to substantiate money laundering charges.
“The Money Laundering Prohibition Act of 2004/2011 requires clear evidence of intent and the actual act of laundering money,” he noted, adding that the prosecution had not met the burden of proving money laundering beyond a reasonable doubt.
The trial, which saw the EFCC re-arraign Ikuforiji and Atoyebi in December 2019, called for the defendants to remain on the bail granted in 2012.
The EFCC concluded its case in March 2021 after presenting two witnesses.
The defense, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Dele Adesina, began their defense in May 2023, with Ikuforiji testifying that the charges were based on a faceless petition alleging he had stolen about N7 billion from the Lagos House of Assembly.
Originally arraigned in March 2012 before Judge Okechukwu Okeke on 20 counts of money laundering, the case was reassigned to Judge Ibrahim Buba, who granted the defendants bail and later discharged them in September 2014 after upholding their no-case submissions.
The EFCC appealed this decision, leading to the Court of Appeal’s 2016 ruling for a fresh trial.
The Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision, directing the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to reassign the case, eventually leading to Judge Liman’s acquittal of both defendants.
