Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, has fixed April 18 to rule on the motion filed by a former governor of Anambra state, Willie Obiano, praying the court to quash the N4 billion money laundering charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC).
The court fixed the date after counsel in the matter adopted their processes and asked the court to give a ruling in their favour.
The counsel to the EFCC, Mr Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, prayed the court to dismiss Obiano’s application based on the fact that security votes, like any other funds, if misappropriated could be adjudicated upon by the court.
“I would like to bring to the notice of the court further authority as to whether security votes can be stolen and whether the court has no jurisdiction to look into it,” Tahir said.
In his argument, counsel to Obiano, Mr Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN prayed the court to discountenance the objections of the prosecution and grant the prayers of his client as articulated in the motion.
Justice Ekwo thereafter fixed April 18 to rule on the application but gave the condition that parties would be notified if the ruling was ready before the 18th of April.
Obiano is accused of allegedly diverting N4 billion from Anambra account earmarked for a security vote in his last five years in office.
He is being prosecuted by EFCC on nine counts bordering on money laundering.
The anti-graft agency alleged that Obiano bypassed financial institutions in numerous unlawful cash transactions using funds allegedly stolen from the state’s account.
The EFCC claimed that the cash amounts involved in the transactions exceeded legally permitted limits.
The motion on notice was brought pursuant to Section 6 (6) (a) and (b) and Section 36(6) (6) b of the 1999 constitution as amended and Sections 1(1) & (2), 266, 271(b), 383(4) &492 (3) of the Administration of the Criminal Justice, (ACJA) Act 2015.
The governor, however, filed an application praying the court to dismiss the charge against him for lack of jurisdiction.
In the motion on notice, the former governor said that one of the grounds for filing the application was that there was a subsisting appeal by the Anambra State government challenging the authority of the EFCC to investigate the money in question.
Obiano also said his motion was based on the grounds that no prima facie case had been disclosed against him in the charge as there was no link between the proof of evidence and the purported allegation made against him in the charge.
According to the former governor, there is no testimony from any witness indicating that he issued directives for the disbursement of security votes and other funds belonging to the Anambra government.
He said that he could not be held accountable for any alleged unlawful action by officials of the Anambra government as there was no concept of vicarious liability in the criminal justice system.
Among others, Obiano is seeking “An order of the court quashing the instant charge as it amounts to flagrant abuse of judicial process and a mockery of criminal justice.
“An order quashing the charge for non-disclosure of a prime facie case being vague and devoid of precision in respect of all the 9- count charge.”
Moreover, the defendant held that there was no evidence from any witness showing that he passed down directives for the disbursement of security votes and other funds belonging to Anambra State government.
“The defendant cannot be made answerable for any purported unlawful actions of officials of Anambra government as there is no vicarious liability in our criminal jurisprudence.
“The thinking and conclusion of the prosecution on the counts arose from speculation and suspicions,” he said.
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