The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, on Wednesday, declined to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, following his failure to appear for the continuation of his trial on money laundering charges.
Fani-Kayode who also served as the Director of Media and Publicity in the campaign team of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, is answering to a five-count charge that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against him.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the sum of N26million was illegally released to him by the erstwhile National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, retd, before the 2015 general elections, to boost media campaign for former President Jonathan.
At the resumed proceedings in the matter on Wednesday, EFCC, through its lawyer, Mohammed Abubakar, applied for an arrest warrant to be issued against the Defendant who was absent in court.
Abubakar accused the Defendant of deliberately frustrating the expeditious hearing and determination of the charge against him.
However, EFCC’s application was opposed by Fani-Kayode’s lawyer, Mr Wale Balogun, who tendered a medical report dated November 24, 2020, which recommended bed rest for the former Minister.
Balogun said it was not true that his client deliberately failed to appear for his trial.
In a bench ruling, the Chief Judge of the High Court, Justice John Tsoho, who is presiding over the matter, refused EFCC’s application.
The court held that the medical report that was presented by Fani-Kayode’s lawyer established that he had a justifiable ground to be absent from the trial on Wednesday.
Consequently, Justice Tsoho adjourned the case till February 23 and 24, 2020.
The court had on November 11, 2016, granted the Defendant bail to the tune of N50m with one surety in like sum, after he had spent about a month in the custody of the EFCC.
Some counts in the charge against the Defendant marked FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016, read: “That you Chief Femi Fani-Kayode on or about the 2nd day of November 2014, in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did retain the sum of N26 million purporting same to be paid for media campaign on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the office of the President, when you reasonably ought to have known that such fund directly represented the proceeds of the unlawful activity of Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd), then the National Security Adviser and Shuaibu Salisu, the then Director of Finance and Administration Office of the NSA (To wit: criminal breach of Trust and corruption and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 17(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended in 2012 and punishable under Section 17(b) of the same Act.
“That you, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode on or about the 24th day of November 2014, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did accept cash payment valued at N26, 000, 000. 00 (Twenty Six Million Naira) from the office of the National Security Adviser through one Victor Ehiabhi, your security detail, which sum was over and above the required threshold for cash payments and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended in 2012 and punishable under 16(1) (a) of the same Act”.
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