Abuja Court Frees Former NNPC GMD of Money Laundering Charge, EFCC to Appeal Ruling

Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, on Thursday freed a former Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Andrew Yakubu of money laundering charges.

Justice Mohammed in a judgment discharged and acquitted the former NNPC boss after holding that the prosecution failed to prove its allegations against him.
But the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a swift reaction, on Thursday said it would appeal the ruling.

Justice Mohammed ordered the federal government to release the alleged proceeds of crime seized from the defendant, amounting to a total of $9.8 million and £74,000.
Yakubu was dragged to court by the federal government after huge sums of hard currencies were found in a safe in his Kaduna resident.

The EFCC had on February 3, 2017, stormed Yakubu’s resident in Kaduna on a sting operation where the sum of $9. 8 million and £74,000 stashed in a fire-proof safe were recovered.
The anti-graft agency had accused the former GMD of failing to disclosed the said funds in his asset declaration form in 2015, as required by the law.
The Commission a month later (March 16, 2017) slammed a six-count charge bordering on money laundering and false declaration of assets against him.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges and was admitted to bail.
However, after the prosecution closed its case against the defendant, Yakubu, entered a no-case submission, claiming that the prosecution failed to prove the ingredients of the charge.
In his ruling, Justice Mohammed partially agreed with Yakubu, struck out two of the six-count charge and ordered him to enter his defense in the remaining four.
Not satisfied, Yakubu proceeded to the Court of Appeal, asking the appellate court to set aside the order for him to enter his defense in four counts.

In their ruling however, the appellate court struck out two of the four counts and ordered him to open his defense in the remaining two.
Still dissatisfied, Yakubu proceeded to the apex court, where the Supreme Court in July 2021 dismissed his appeal seeking the retrieval of his forfeited monies — making it the third time that this plea was rejected.
Yakubu had argued that the monies seized from him were gifts and estacodes in different tranches, adding that the sums were gathered within a five-year period.
He explained that he decided to keep the monies in his house pending when he decides to open a business venture of his choice.

In his ruling, the apex court dismissed one of the count leaving just one count for Yakubu to answer to at the trial court.
However, ruling in the remaining one count charge yesterday, the trial court held that the EFCC failed to establish that the defendant received cash payment beyond the N5 million threshold.
According to the judge, it is one thing to find money in a person’s house and another to prove that the money was received all at once.

He described Yakubu’s evidence as, “credible” adding that he had no reason to disbelieve it.
The judge added that the EFCC did not do a good job in its investigation.
“The prosecution ought to have investigated the claim of the defendant and subsequently, lead evidence to contradict its claim,” the judge held.
“A prudent investigator could have asked the investigator to asked the defendant to provide the names of some of his friends and other individuals who had given him monies as gifts or as goodwill and find out how much each person had given him and thereafter invite them to find out the truth or otherwise.”
Consequently, the judge ordered that the monies deposited in the Central Bank of Nigeria be returned to the former GMD.
Meanwhile, the EFCC said it would appeal the ruling by Justice Mohammed.

The EFCC revealed that in the course of the trial, it called witnesses and tendered documents in evidence, but the defendant filed a no case submission.
Based on the submission, the court struck out two of the six counts. A statement by EFCC explained that two further counts were chalked off upon appeal by the defendant while the appellate court ordered his continued trial on the remaining two counts.
“However, the commission believes the trial judge erred in dismissing the charge and has resolved to test the ruling at the appellate court,” it stated.

Alex Enumah and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

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