Lagos Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji In Fresh N200m Money Laundering Probe…Ferries 86 Lawmakers, Friends To Ghana For Jamboree

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Barely one week after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, filed 56-count amended charge of money laundering against the Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, and his personal assistant, Oyebode Alade Atoyebi, the speaker has again been fingered in another N200 million money laundering scam.

iReports-ng.com gathered that a group of lawmakers behind the initial petition that landed Ikuforiji in EFCC net has again levelled fresh fraud allegations against the Speaker, accusing him of using spurious seminars and conferences to steal over N200 million which was laundered through Ghana in the last two weeks. To perfect his taste for laundering stolen public funds, Ikuforiji was said to have organised two phantom conferences for some lawmakers in Ghana.

One of the lawmakers on the trip told iReports-ng.com that 56 of them along with some friends and aides of Ikuforiji were flown to Ghana on June 2 while another batch of 30 merry makers were moved to the West African country on June 9 under the guise of attending a seminar. “It later dawned on some of us that the Speaker and one of his ex-Senator friend were only using the seminar as a smokescreen because it was more of a party loaded with assorted ladies from Lagos and Ghana than any serious thing. We also later found out that loads of raw cash in dollars were moved out to Ghana in the name of the conference”, an infuriated member of the delegation who though belongs to the speaker’s caucus told iReports-ng.com

“We are complaining again because obviously this man is a recidivist who can never leave crime and we also want through this medium to bring what is happening again to the attention of law enforcement agencies especially the EFCC and the party leaders to help us stop this brazen looting of public funds”, the source added.

The lawmaker complained that instead of doing any serious thing in Ghana, the Speaker subjected them to obscene sights of all shapes of women who flooded their hotels”to the extent that some of our colleagues were given the option of sleeping with two or three women at a time.” He further said that “this is the first time i am seeing things like this in my life as the Honourable Speaker himself led by example by always going into his hotel room with different two ladies every night. This is the more reason why some of us with some level of decorum and descency are bitter because this is a shameless way of stealing and wasting public funds.”

In the amended charge against Ikuforiji dated 4 June, 2013 filed before a Federal High Court in Lagos by Mary Onaja of the EFCC legal department, it was alleged that Ikuforiji and Atoyebi between April 2010 and August 2011 conspired together to commit an illegal act, to wit, accepting various cash payments amounting to the sum of N673 million from the Lagos State House of Assembly without going through a financial institution, thereby committing an offence contrary to sections 18a of the Money Laundering Act 2011.

The Speaker and his personal assistant were to be re-arraigned before another judge of the federal high court in Lagos last week as the former judge, Justice Okechukwu Okeke presiding over the trial has retired amidst allegations he was highly compromised by Ikuforiji to quash the case.

The speaker and his personal assistant were however not in court and as a result, the case was adjourned till 24 June, 2013 when the two of them would be arraigned. On 24 April, 2013, the presiding judge then, Justice Okeke had adjourned the matter indefinitely.

When the matter was mentioned that day, a new counsel engaged by the EFCC, David Idenu, announced his appearance, while Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, leading two other senior counsel, Abiodun Omidare and Tunde Akinrimisi, announced their appearance for the accused speaker and his aide.

Justice Okeke, while adjourning the matter indefinitely, said the former EFCC prosecutor was blackmailing the court by constantly asking for adjournments.

In the initial charge, the accused persons were alleged to have conspired between April 2010 and July 2011, to commit an illegal act of accepting cash payments amounting to N273.3 million from the Lagos State House of Assembly without going through a financial institution.

Ikuforiji was alleged to have misappropriated about N500 million of the House’s funds, an offence which contravenes Section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011.

Maxymilliano: Was this rogue not part of Tinubu crew on the London road show where the rogue-in-chief

take dat: At least we can see ACN lawmakers petition EFCC to investigate a member of their party, I wonder if members of states assembly controlled by PDP can ever do such especially when the person involved is a close confidant of the leader of the party? Why can't these aggrieved lawmakers institute impeachment proceedings against him if they truly have a case? Scared of Asiwaju's wrath I guess! This Licentious rogue ought to be jailed but the EFCC is toothless and the judicial system itself is corruption personified!

saxywale:
The more reason I believe this ikuforiji guy is no good. It's very good development that all lawmakers don't stand for corruption. Imagine if they had all kept silent.

tomakint:
You are definitely not thinking properly, we talking of shocking revelations of financial recklessness from the staple of your darling 'progressive party' and you are here talking about 'good development' I can only laugh at your derision

taharqa2: @MODS, una still dey pretend say una dey sleep abi??