Court remands 3 INEC officials for laundering N179m
- Court has remanded 3 INEC officials in Ikoyi prison for money laundering
- The accused were said to have conspired among themselves and took possession of the N179.8m in March 2015, days before the general elections
- INEC said they received the money when they ought to have known that the money formed part of proceeds of fraud
The Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday, July 30, made an order for the remand of three officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the Ikoyi prison.
The Punch reports that the remand order was made by Justice Muslim Hassan shortly after the three officials, attached to Ogun state, were arraigned for allegedly laundering N179.8m.
READ ALSO: Kano state Assembly lawmakers impeach speaker
Legit.ng gathered that the commission alleged that the defendants - Yemi Akinwonmi, Dickson Atiba and Ogunmodede Oladayo, conspired among themselves and took possession of the N179.8m in March 2015, days before the general elections.
The anti-graft agency said they received the money from one Adeyinka Ayo-Aina when they “reasonably ought to have known that the money formed part of proceeds of fraud.”
It added that they handled the cash without going through any financial institution, contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
The EFCC alleged that the first and second defendants, on or about April 7, 2015, made and accepted a cash payment of N69m, “which sum exceeded the amount authorised by law without going through a financial institution and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended, and punishable under Section 16(2) of the same Act.”
The three defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the eight charges pressed against them.
While adjourning till August 6, to take their bail applications, Justice Hassan ordered that they should be remanded in Ikoyi prison.
PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigeria’s #1 news app
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that a former chairman of the Ondo state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Clement Faboyede, was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) over an alleged fraud of N500 million.
Name a Nigerian politician who is not corrupt - on Legit.ng TV
Source: Legit.ng
