Alleged money laundering: Diezani begs to come home to prove innocence
— 4th October 2017
…Asks court to order AGF for her extradition
From: BENEDICT ODINAKA EZEOKA.
Embattled former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs.
Diezani Alison-Madueke, has declared her intention to prove her
innocence on various allegation bordering on fraud preferred against
her.
The former minister was mentioned in the charge preferred
against a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Dele Belgore and a former
Minister of National Planning, Prof. Abubakar Suleiman, before the
Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission ( EFCC ).
At the resumed hearing of the matter, on Tuesday, one
Obinna Onya, a lawyer from Abuja, appeared before Justice Aikawa with an
application seeking to join Diezani as one of the defendants in the
charge.
The embattled minister asked the court to compel the
Attorney-General of the Federation to bring her back to Nigeria from the
United Kingdom, where she travelled to shortly after leaving office in
2015.
According to the lawyer, he said that her client has
intention of appearing in court in Nigeria to defend a criminal charge
bordering on alleged laundering of N450m, where her name was mentioned.
In the application, filed pursuant to Section 36(1),(5),(6
(a)-(e) of the Constitution and sections 216 (1) (2) (3) (4); and 217
of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, sought an amendment
to the charges against Belgore and Suleiman, so as to join Diezani as
one of the defendants.
The lawyer contended that contrary to the declaration by
the EFCC that Diezani was at large, the former minister was in the
United Kingdom and was willing to return to Nigeria so that she could
appear in court to take her plea and defend the charges..
The lawyer argued that since Diezani’s name had been
mentioned in the charge, it would be against her right to fair hearing
for the case to proceed without affording her the opportunity to defend
herself.
“The statement made by the prosecution means that the
applicant (Diezani) is going to be convicted without being given the
opportunity to defend herself,” Onya told Justice Aikawa.
The application prayed for an order “mandating the
Attorney General of the Federation, being the agent of the complainant,
to facilitate the prompt appearance of the applicant in court on the
next adjourned date, to take her plea and to defend the allegations made
against her in counts 1, 2,3 and 4 of the charge, numbered
FHC/L/35c/2017.”
Onya urged Justice Aikawa to hear and determine the application before proceeding with the case on Tuesday.
But the prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo,
opposed him, saying the application was not ripe for hearing, as he had
yet to be served.
ALLEGED MONEY LAUNDERING:DIEZANI BEGS TO COME.
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Wednesday, October 04, 2017
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