In cramjone's word #Nigeria on the brink

Cram.joness is now free

SeunEatsGARRI:


And how does this affect the price of GARRI in the market?

Goodluck Jonathan remains my Mentor!

Are u serious??your mentor

Fani kayode is noting but a Political Prostitute,so I don't take him serious or anything that involves him.

Eya

berem:
That's what corrupt thieves get when they are loyal to Jonathan.

Congratulations FFK!

Thats good of you,so when are you going to pay him a visit

cramjones:
The story of Nigeria. A theif leaves his party, sings praises to President Jonathan and trala! He is an innocent man! Impunity is what you get with a clueless corrupt and wicked government! Well done Nigerians for voting GEJ the supporter and acquitter of thieves.

-CramJones

So you no be FFK again?v confused fella

Nigeria, we hail thee!!!

Smh

That is the merry go-round that is happening in our country it just a shame to our judiciary

when will Nigeria have its first high profile conviction for corruption under Jonathan? It has been 5 years and counting and no single person has gone to jail. Abi our politicians just stop to dey thief overnight?

He is in PDP now. Nothing will happen to him

politricks:
Cram.joness is now free

Lol... So you still believe that crackhead is FFK?

Adyrin:
No its a joke!
Olodo........

U must be a bigot. Olofo!

F FFK

A kingdom where the HEN is made a JUDGE,the COCKROACHES there will know no JUSTICE.

If Shekau joins PDP today he will be giving a ministerial appointment.

lekkie073:

pls don't bring Jonathan into this. u can go supreme court if e dey pain u for nyansh

ignore that specimen

Support presidential reelection and get away with murder. E.g Abba Moro, FFK, Imam Shekau (being dashed 220 square meter of land as further reward).

in Nigeria, who has ever beeb nailed for misappropriation?

who was expecting him to be nailed in the first place.......farouk vs odetola with fine evidence was dismissed.

[size=18pt]Lagos state court Ikuforiji (Lagos state speaker) Discharged, Acquitted Of Money Laundering)[/size]



After four years in the dock, Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday discharged the Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, of the charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Ruling on the no-case submission filed by the Speaker, Justice Buba in a considered ruling which lasted about two hours, held that the EFCC failed to establish prima facie case of fraud against him, and as such, the speaker deserved to be discharged and acquitted.

The judge described the case of the prosecution as a case of trial and error or at best, mere speculation, and that speculation, no matter how strong, cannot replace fact.


The judge ruled that the case against Ikuforiji was the very first in the history of Nigeria where a Speaker would be charged to court for performing his lawful and legal duties based on a petition written by a faceless petitioner who was not called to substantiate the allegations in the petition.
Ikuforiji was freed alongside his personal assistant, Oyebode Atoyebi, who the anti-graft agency jointly charged alongside his boss over alleged money laundering to the tune of N500 million.
The charge was first filed in November 2011 before Justice John Tsoho, while an amended charge was filed before the court on January 30, 2012.

As the case was going on before Justice Tsoho, the judge suddenly excused himself from the case and attributed it to personal reason.


Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta then re-assigned the case to Justice Okechukwu Okeke.

The case was however assigned to Justice Buba following the retirement of Justice Okeke.
It was before Justice Buba that the EFCC opened the case against Ikuforiji and Atoyebi.
During trial, the EFCC presented two witnesses, while the third witness was suddenly withdrawn from the case.


The witnesses presented by the EFCC are Adebayo Adeniyi, an official of the agency and Adewale Olatunji, former Permanent Secretary and Clerk of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Adeniyi, had during his testimony, detailed how the defendants allegedly laundered millions of naira.

For instance, the witness told the court how the defendants allegedly collected N13.5 million for honorarium, N4.5 million for renovation of the Speaker’s residence, and N1.5 million for the Speaker’s Guest House every month for six consecutive months.


Adeniyi further inundated the court with series of other transactions, which he said the Speaker and his aide carried out by receiving money from the Lagos State House of Assembly without passing through a financial institution.

The witness, however, admitted under cross-examination that the EFCC never investigated whether the monies collected by the accused were used for the purposes meant for.
On his part, Olatunji, told the court that conferences attended by members of the assembly were based on approval.


Olatunji, who has since retired from the civil service, had further recalled that he was appointed a clerk of the Assembly in 2007.

He said as clerk of the assembly, he was in charge of its administrative activities, and to some extent, its finance, adding that he also employed the second accused as aide to Ikuforiji.
The witness told the court that as soon as funds were received from the state government, the Commissioner for Finance embarks on a budget analysis, and issues guidelines for its implementation.


He said the Commissioner for Economic Planning also moderated the budget, adding that the law stipulates that one twelfth of the total overhead running cost, be issued to the Assembly on a monthly basis.

According to Olatunji, Lagos Assembly maintained three bank accounts with Skye Bank, Wema Bank, and Equitorial Trust Bank and that cheques were issued in the name of the clerk of the house, who confirmed same.


The witness told the court that funds allocated to the Assembly were expended in accordance with the budget, adding that staff payments were made in cash while those to corporate entities were paid in cheques.

After the EFCC concluded the case, the defence led by Wole Olanipekun (SAN) filed a no-case submission to the charge.


While ruling on the no-case submission, Justice Buba held that from the totality of the evidence before the court, it was evident that the case of the EFCC could be best be described as speculative and a witch-hunt.

The judge added that the EFCC failed to prove money laundering against Ikuforiji, as the ingredient of the crime was not substantiated.


While referring to the admission by EFCC witness that the commission never investigated whether the funds were used for what they were meant for, Justice Buba ruled that the EFCC misinterpreted the Money Laundering Act.

The judge explained that money laundering was any attempt to manage or conceal the proceeds of crime, and in the instant case, the EFCC never established that the funds were proceeds of crime.
The judge, who said that it was evident that the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), gave approval to the financial transactions of the State House of Assembly, added that the court was duty bound to determine if a case had been made against the defendants on the basis of the evidence adduced before the court.


According to the judge, "In a criminal case, the prosecution has the duty to prove the case against the accused. There is no corresponding duty by the accused to prove their innocence.

"The court is concerned with the credibility of the witnesses. The prosecution failed to carry out an investigation into the alleged crime made against the Speaker and his aide.


"It behoves on the prosecution to provide the element of money laundering against the defendants. The prosecution has misconstrued the provision of the money laundering law in the process of prosecuting this matter.

"The submission of the prosecution flies against logic and against the spirit of the money laundering law. The documents before the court and the submissions of the defense lawyers show that the prosecution is based on trial by error.


"The prosecution, in filing the charge, had exhibited what best could be described as a joke taken too far. The prosecution was in difficulty to decide which charge to hang on the accused persons," Justice Buba ruled.

The judge added that the cheques of the transactions under review were issued to the banks, which were financial institutions, apart from also the fact that there was a Self Accounting Law for the Assembly.


"In sum, it is the position of this court that the prosecution has no answer to the no-case submission of the defence, and the accused should be and are hereby discharged," Justice Buba concluded.
When contacted, the prosecutor, Godwin Obla (SAN) said the EFCC would review the ruling and take a position soonest.

While reacting to the ruling, Ikuforiji who is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the case was a distraction orchestrated by his political detractors.


He said his acquittal was a reminder that though the wheel of justice may grind exceedingly slow, it grinds exceedingly fine.

He thanked those who stood by him both at home and abroad while the case lasted particularly Governor Babatunde Fashola and predecessor, Bola Tinubu.


“Indeed, justice delayed is not always justice denied. Dear friends, the judiciary is still the last hope of the common man. Despite the travails of the last three years, I’ve never been more hopeful that the future of our country is bright.


In this season of vindication, I cannot but thank the Almighty God for his unwavering mercy. He is the Unchangeable Changer, the King of kings, the Lord of Lords, the Ancient of Days, the One that was, the One that is, the One that will ever be, the Pillar that holds my life, Father of the fatherless, Supporter and Defender of the innocent and the Avenger of the guiltless.
I thank God that at no time did the case prevent me from doing my job and carrying out my responsibilities as a lawmaker and the Speaker of the foremost Lagos State House of Assembly.

YoursGEJ:
when will Nigeria have its first high profile conviction for corruption under Jonathan? It has been 5 years and counting and no single person has gone to jail. Abi our politicians just stop to dey thief overnight?

All this govt does is to grant amnesty to corrupt politicians.E.g Alams,bode George.....etc

lekkie073:

pls don't bring Jonathan into this. u can go supreme court if e dey pain u for nyansh

Egbon, God bless you.

Tell them to first of all deal with Ikuforiji case

Them don start again abii......In Other news check out photos of Cristiano Ronaldo at the Manchester Airport ahead of clash with Lionel Messi >>>http://www.nationalhelm.com/2014/11/cristiano-ronaldo-touches-down-at.html

if tinubu is free of corruption, then no one is corrupt

The same people saying Jonathan was witch-hunting him when the court case started, are the ones now complaining after he has been acquitted. All because he is no longer in their party.
Hypocrites.

naija.. I hail thee

The best administration ever in Nigeria to steal money and go free.
Has EFCC merge with Civil Defence? Just asking!!!!

Collynzo9:
The same people saying Jonathan was witch-hunting him when the court case started, are the ones now complaining after he has been acquitted. All because he is no longer in their party.
Hypocrites.

When he was in APC, they were screaming that GEJ is witch-hunting him since he is an APC member

You can imagine how useless these people are