By Agency Report
A Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed 7 March to hear a motion filed by a former governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the alleged N4 billion fraud charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Mr Obiano was arraigned on 24 January on a nine-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N4 billion.
The former governor, however, pleaded not guilty to all counts when the charge was read to him.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Monday, counsel to Mr Obiano, Onyechi Ikpeazu, informed the court that he had filed a motion challenging its jurisdiction on behalf of his client.
The counsel to the EFCC, Sylvanus Tahir, however, said that he had yet to file a reply because he was served the motion on Monday morning in court.
Mr Tahir also said that the issue of jurisdiction had been settled by the Supreme Court which stated that once a charge is on money laundering, the Federal High Court has inherent jurisdiction to try it.
The judge, Inyang Ekwo, advised the prosecutor to do his part by filing his response to the motion.
“It is not for you to tell the court the Supreme Court’s decision on the issue. Respond to the motion and leave the court to decide,” Justice Ekwo said.
The accusation
Mr Obiano, who was governor between March 2014 and March 2022, is said to have allegedly diverted the money from the state’s account dedicated to security funds in his last five years in office.
He allegedly directed the diversion of the funds from the state’s account between April 2017 and March 2022 and spent the money for purposes unconnected to the security affairs of the state.
The funds, according to the EFCC, were diverted through companies that had no business relationship with the Anambra government, converted to dollars and handed over to the former governor in dollars.
The case, filed by the EFCC, detailed the nine companies allegedly used to divert the funds from the state government’s security vote account.
Each of the nine counts disclosed the amount a company received and the period it received it from the state government’s account.
In count one of the charges, the EFCC alleged that between 16 February and 9 March 2018, an aggregate sum of N223,371,000 was paid from the security vote account into the account of Connought International Services Limited.
The anti-graft agency alleged in count two that between 30 October and 13 November 2018, a total sum of N95 million was paid from the security vote account into the bank account of S.Y. Panda Enterprises.
In Count Three, the EFCC alleged that between 11 April 2017 and 21 June 2019, a total of N416 million was diverted from the security vote account into the account of Zirga Zirga Trading Company Limited.
(NAN)
