EFCC to arraign Fani-Kayode, Usman Tuesday

Femi Fani Kayode

The arraignment of former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode and his Finance counterpart, Senator Nenadi Usman, has been fixed for Tuesday before Justice Sule Hassan of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
A prosecution counsel at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) confirmed the date on Thursday.
The commission charged them along with Danjuman Yusuf and a company, Jointrust Dimentions Nigeria Limited.
Ahead of his arraignment, Fani-Kayode has filed a bail application through his lawyer, Ahmed Raji (SAN).

In an affidavit in support of the motion for bail, Fani-Kayode’s wife, Precious said her husband told EFCC all he knew about the funding of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign, and that, as the Director of Publicity, no money was paid into his account.
She said: “All the monies paid into his account were from private entities and they were judiciously used to prosecute the PDP 2015 presidential campaign.
“‎He was granted administrative bail with onerous conditions. The said bail conditions were met on Thursday, the 12th day of May, 2016, yet the complainant/respondent (EFCC) has refused to release the defendant/applicant till date.”
Mrs. Fani-Kayode  said the commission’s operatives interrogated him three times about the campaign money, adding that no new issue and or petition was raised or written against him.
“I was there during one of the interrogation sessions, and what the operatives were asking the defendant/applicant was to refund the campaign funds and nothing more.
“The instant charges against him were merely brought to justify his unconstitutional detention by the complainant/respondent,” Mrs Fani-Kayode said.
According to her, EFCC was only keeping him so as “to ask him to refund the campaign funds expended for the PDP 2015 Presidential Campaign in respect of which he was the Director of Publicity.”
Count one of the charge reads: “That you, Nenadi Esther Usman, Femi Fani-Kayode, Danjuman Yusuf And Jointrust Dimentions Nigeria Limited on or about the 8th day of January, 2015, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired amongst yourselves to indirectly retain the sum of N1,500, 000,000.00 which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: stealing.”
The alleged offence is contrary to Section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012 and punishable under Section 15(3) and (4).
The four were also accused of indirectly retaining N300million, N400million and N800million, all proceeds of corruption, according to EFCC.
The 17-count charge borders on conspiracy, unlawful retention of proceeds of theft and corruption and money laundering.
According to Raji, under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) of 2015, bail is more relaxed as the offence he was charged with is a bailable one.

The Nation