Tobias Sylvester
A Federal High Court in Lagos has dismissed a money laundering charge against a former chief of air staff, Adesola Amosu, and two others.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had re-arraigned the defendants in 2018 on a 13-count charge related to money laundering amounting to N21 billion.
The anti-graft agency accused the defendants of allegedly conspiring and converting funds belonging to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to personal use.
One of the counts reads: “That you, Air Marshal Adesola Amosun Nunayon (Retd.), Air Vice Marshal Jacob Bola Adigun, and Air Commodore Gbadebo Owodunni Olugbenga, on or about the 5th day of March 2014 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court”.
“Conspired amongst yourselves to convert the total sum of N21,467,634,707.43 (Twenty One Billion, Four Hundred and Sixty-seven Million, Six Hundred and Thirty Four Thousand, Seven Hundred and Seven Naira, Forty-three Kobo), property of the Nigerian Air Force,” the charge reads.
“Which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of your unlawful activities to wit: criminal breach of trust, and hereby committed an offence contrary to section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011( as amended) and punishable under section 15(3) of the same Act.”
During Tuesday’s hearing, the presiding judge, Chukwujekwu Aneke, sided with the defense counsel’s preliminary objection, challenging the court’s jurisdiction.
The defense argued that since the defendants were serving military officers at the time, they should only be subject to trial by a court-martial, as they were still officers when the suit was filed against them.
Adesola Amosu served as Nigeria’s 19th chief of air staff from 2014 to 2015.
KanyiDaily had also reported how a military officer secretly fathered two of his senior colleague’s kids as payback after discovering the senior officer was the real father of his own kids.
