EFCC Press Release
Justice J. Liman of the Federal High Court Benin,
Edo State,
today convicted Michael Igbinedion,
younger brother to Lucky Igbinedion, former Edo State
governor, and Charles Eboigbodin . The
duo alongside their companies; Gava
Corporation Limited; Romrig Nigeria Limited; PML Securities Company Limited and
PML Nigeria Limited, were prosecuted on an 81-count charge of money laundering,
misappropriation of funds and abuse of
office brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC.
The convicts had pleaded not
guilty when they were arraigned, setting the stage for a full trail. In the course of trial, the prosecution called
several witnesses to prove its case.
One of them, Mr. Ajoyo
Sowale, an Accounts Officer with the Guaranty Trust Bank, identified various
account statements and account opening documents of the convicts and confirmed
to the court that several lodgements were made into the accounts, and that he
printed the account statements and got them certified by the appropriate
authority.
The parties adopted their written addressed in November14, 2014 , while judgment was fixed for December 1, 2014. But a series of adjournments delayed the delivery of the ruling till April 29.
The parties adopted their written addressed in November14, 2014 , while judgment was fixed for December 1, 2014. But a series of adjournments delayed the delivery of the ruling till April 29.
When justice Liman finally
delivered his ruling today, he found the two accused persons guilty on some of
the counts. The judge convicted Eboigbodin for money laundering on counts 50-59,
while Igbinedion was pronounced guilty as charged on counts 79-81.
The judge however deferred
the sentencing of the convicts till tomorrow April 30, 2015.
Wilson
Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
29th April, 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment