A Prosecutor with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Bilikisu Bala, on Monday, informed a Joint Committee of the House of Representatives investigating allegations of corruption against certain officers of the Commission and the Nigeria Correctional Service that the money laundering charges dropped in the trial of Idris Okuneye (a.k.a Bobrisky) were lawful and in compliance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
The EFCC disclosed this in a statement on Monday, recounting the prosecutor’s address to the House Committee.
Bala, the head of the prosecution team that handled Okuneye’s trial, pointed out to the Committee that the charges were dropped based on information from the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML) that Okuneye’s firm, Bob Express, was not a Designated Non-Financial Institution, Business, and Profession (DNFIBP), and therefore could not be prosecuted for violating the provisions of the Money Laundering Prevention & Prohibition Act, 2022.
“We initially raised six counts of charges related to Naira Abuse and Money Laundering against Okuneye, based on his confessional statement that his firm, Bob Express, was not registered with SCUML and was not submitting returns to it.
“Counts 1-4 were related to Naira Abuse, while counts five and six were related to money laundering. Okuneye’s confession that he hadn’t registered his firm, Bob Express, with SCUML, and was not submitting returns to it informed the inclusion of the money laundering charges in the six-count indictment.
“However, when we wrote to SCUML regarding the status of the firm, the Unit responded that it was not a Designated Non-Financial Institution, Business, and Profession (DNFIBP). Therefore, we could not lawfully sustain the charges. Consequently, we dropped them and relied on the four counts related to Naira mutilation, to which Okuneye had pleaded guilty,” she explained.
The prosecutor dismissed claims of financial inducement in dropping the charges, maintaining that no such thing occurred.
“There is simply no basis for that. The Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) allows for the amendment of charges. It is a standard professional practice. It is laughable for anyone to attribute our decision to monetary issues. Why did we write to SCUML if we didn’t want to include the charges? We wrote to be lawfully guided, and when the Unit responded that the firm had not breached any law, on what grounds should we have retained the money laundering charges?” she stated.
Bala, who appeared before the Committee with top management staff of the EFCC, urged the Committee to thoroughly examine all the issues raised against the EFCC and to make its findings public in the interest of justice.
Chief of Staff to the EFCC’s Chairman, Commander CE Michael Nzekwe, who represented the Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, reiterated the seriousness with which the Commission views the integrity of its staff.
“We took the allegation of bribery against our officers very seriously. Integrity is one of our core values. This is why we are here to present all the facts related to Okuneye’s trial to the public,” he said.
Okuneye, who was convicted for Naira abuse, had alleged in a viral video that he offered N15 million as a bribe to some unnamed EFCC officers to drop money laundering charges against him.
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