The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to cite two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) – Ifedayo Adedipe and Abdulwahab Muhammed – for contempt.
It is for their failure to honour their commitment to produce the immediate-past Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello for arraignment.
Just Emeka Nwite had adjourned until yesterday based on the SANs’ promise to produce Bello, who was absent again.
The judge adjourned till July 17 to rule on EFCC’s application that the two defence counsel be cited for contempt.
The former Kogi governor rather wrote to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, praying that he be tried in Lokoja, the state capital, for the N80.2 billion laundering charge brought against him by the EFCC.
Bello’s request is contained in a letter written by Muhammed.
The ex-governor stated that since the funds he allegedly laundered belonged to the state, the capital of Kogi should serve as the proper venue for his trial.
Part of the letter reads: “We hereby apply for the transfer of the case from the Abuja judicial division of the Federal High Court, where it is pending presently, to the Lokoja division of the Federal High Court pursuant to the provisions of Section 45 of the Federal High Court (Establishment) Act.
“The proper court and venue for the trial of the instant case is not the Federal High Court, Abuja judicial division, where the case is currently pending, but the Federal High Court, Lokoja judicial division in Kogi State, where all the alleged offences of money laundering and misappropriation allegedly took place.
“My lord, the buying of property is not money laundering, it is the conversion and or transfer of funds from Kogi State Government’s bank accounts, which is a proceed of the alleged unlawful act that is money laundering.
“All the funds the complainant alleged to have been laundered by the defendant are monies of the Government of Kogi State, whose state capital is in Lokoja.
“All the bank accounts from which the said monies are stated to be laundered as shown in the proof of evidence are domiciled with the branches of the respective banks in Lokoja, Kogi State.
“The institution of the proceedings in the Abuja division of the Federal High Court by the EFCC is forum shopping.
“The law is settled that generally, the Federal High Court’s jurisdiction is one all over the federation, the court is divided into judicial divisions and where a crime is committed in any of the divisions, criminal proceedings thereof must be initiated and prosecuted in that very judicial division where the act or omission or the elements of the offence were allegedly committed.
“The defendant was the Governor of Kogi State, the charges and the proof of evidence indicate a criminal breach of trust, criminal misappropriation and money laundering in respect of the statutory funds of Kogi State.
“These are the alleged predicate offences and all their elements took place in Kogi State, within the territorial jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, Lokoja judicial division.
“We humbly urge my Lord, to transfer the subject charge to the Lokoja division of the Federal High Court which is the division with the territorial jurisdiction to try the case.”
