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EFCC's N1.2bn Fraud Allegation against Ex-Gov Fayose’s Aide, Agbele, Dismissed in Court |
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a 24-count amended accusation of alleged N1.219 billion money laundering brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Abiodun Agbele and three others.
Agbele, a close political associate of former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, faced these criminal charges for nearly 8 years.
In a decision on a no-case submission presented by Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN on behalf of the defendant, Justice Dimgba ruled that Agbele has no case to answer due to the EFCC's inability to prove the alleged offenses as legally required.
The EFCC had claimed Agbele and three others indirectly received N1.219 billion in cash via a Zenith Bank official in Akure, Ondo State, from then Defence Minister Musiliu Obanikoro, for Ayodele Fayose in June 2014.
Agbele was accused of conducting the transaction outside a financial institution, violating Section 1(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
The EFCC also charged Agbele with assisting De Privateer Ltd to unlawfully acquire N200 million, part of the N1.219 billion, on Fayose's behalf, contrary to Section 18(a) of the same Act.
In his ruling, Justice Dimgba found no evidence of the essential elements of the charges that would necessitate a full trial for Agbele.
Initially, Agbele and three others were arraigned on eleven counts, to which they pleaded not guilty.
The original charge, dated July 26, 2016, by EFCC Counsel Wahab Shittu, SAN, accused Agbele of laundering N4,685,723,000,000.00 transferred from the National Security Adviser's Office by Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd), which he should have known was unlawfully obtained.
The EFCC further alleged that on June 17, 2015, Agbele directly handled N1,219,000,000.00, part of the funds transferred from the National Security Adviser's Office, knowing it was the proceeds of illegal activities by Col. Dasuki and Musiliu Obanikoro, thus contravening the Money Laundering Act, 2011.
Despite pleading not guilty, the trial proceeded. The EFCC later amended the charge to 24 counts on March 7, 2024, after calling eight witnesses, to which the defendants also pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution, led by Wahab Shittu, SAN, called 16 witnesses to prove its case.
After the EFCC rested its case, Agbele, through his lawyer Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, filed a no-case submission, requesting acquittal as the prosecution had not proven the necessary elements of the offenses.
The EFCC, represented by Shittu, contended that Agbele had a case to answer.
However, Justice Dimgba concluded that the prosecution failed to establish the essential elements of the charges.
The court determined that the prosecution's case was merely a cash-in-transit scenario between bank officials.
Despite Agbele's presence during the cash transfer in Akure, Ondo State, the court found no evidence he knew the cash was illegally obtained.
None of the prosecution's witnesses could identify the source of the funds.
Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, mentioned in the charge and a prosecution witness, testified that only Col. Sambo Dasuki and Ayodele Fayose could clarify the cash's origin.
The court concluded that Agbele and the other defendants were unaware of the funds' source, and before requiring Agbele to defend himself, the prosecutor needed to prove the funds' illegal origin and the defendant's knowledge of it.
The court noted the prosecution's critical error in not summoning Ayodele Fayose and Sambo Dasuki to testify about the funds' source, as suggested by Obanikoro.
The court emphasized that mere possession of large sums of cash is insufficient for the charges without evidence that the cash was unlawfully obtained and that Fayose and Agbele knew and benefited from it.
Thus, the court acquitted Agbele of the 23 counts but instructed the second defendant, Silver McNamara, to defend the remaining count, as it did not file a no-case submission.
