The N4.9 billion fraud trial of a former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, was on Thursday stalled before the Federal High Court in Lagos due to the absence of one of the defence counsels, Clement Onwuenwuenor.
Mr Fani-Kayode is being tried alongside a former Minister of State for Finance, Nenadi Usman; Danjuma Yusuf, and a firm, Joint Trust Dimensions Limited.
Mr Onwuenwuenor, lawyer to Yusuf and Joint Trust Dimensions Limited, wrote to the court to seek an adjournment, saying he was before the Court of Appeal in Lagos in respect of three criminal cases.
Justice Rilwan Aikawa subsequently adjourned the case till February 24 and 25.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged the defendants on 17 counts bordering on conspiracy, unlawful retention of proceeds of theft and money laundering.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In one of the counts, the defendants were accused of conspiring among themselves 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”.
EFCC alleges that the duo made a transaction without going through any financial institution, an act it claimed was contrary to sections 1(a) and 16(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012, and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the same Act.
