N7.9bn Corruption Charges: EFCC, Malami ‘drag’ Stella Oduah

N7.9bn Corruption Charges: EFCC, Malami 'drag' Stella Oduah

In a bid to escape arrest order, a former Minister of Aviation, Mrs Stella Adaeze Oduah arrived the Federal High Court in Abuja to take her plea in the alleged N7.9 billion fraud charges brought against her by the Federal Government.

 

Her planned arraignment had before now, been stalled five times due to her persistent absence in court and public holiday.

 

Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo had on July 12 threatened to issue a warrant of arrest for Mrs Stella Oduah should she fail to make herself available for arraignment on the then adjourned date of October 19, which later fell on holiday.

 

The arrest threat was issued following her non appearance to honour court proceedings of July 12 without any explanation from her side.

 

The last attempt to dock her on Tuesday, October 19, for the money laundering case was scuttled by the Eid-el Maulud holiday declared by the Federal Government to celebrate the birth of Prophet muhammad.



Mrs Oduah, now a Senator representing Anambra North Senatorial District in the National Assembly arrived in court as early as 8am to face trial on a 25-count charge, alongside four others.

 

Senator Oduah was accompanied to court by a retinue of security details, friends and political associates.

 

At the time of this report, the Senator is having a last minute pre-arraignment conversation with her lead counsel on the next line of action.

 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is alleging that Mrs Oduah misappropriated the N7.9B public funds while serving as a minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s regime.

 

Other defendants are Gloria Odita, Nwosu Emmanuel Nnamdi, Chukwuma Irene Chinyere, Global Offshore, and Marine Limited, Tip Top Global Resources Limited, Crystal Television Limited, Sobora International Limited, and a foreign construction company.

 

They are charged with conspiracy and money laundering, as well as maintaining anonymous bank accounts.

 

The prosecution counsel, Dr Hassan Liman, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, has also arrived the court in the company of about 12 other lawyers to present the government case against the defendants.

 

Liman had earlier said that 32 witnesses have been lined up to testify against Senator Oduah and eight others with a view to establishing the fraud charges against them.



Moreover, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has ordered the EFCC, to remit the money laundering case file involving Mrs. Stella Oduah, to the Federal Ministry of Justice for review.

 

Malami’s directive followed a petition alleging that the anti-graft agency was being used to persecute the erstwhile Minister.

 

At the scheduled arraignment of the Defendants before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday, a lead defence counsel, Mr. Ogwu Onoja SAN, notified the court that the AGF had on the strength of the petition dated February 4, called for the case file.

 

He argued that it would not be proper for the court to proceed with the arraignment, when the EFCC is yet to respond to the AGF’s request.

 

Onoja, went ahead and tendered a copy of the said petition to the court.

 

“My lord, we are of the strongest view that plea cannot be taken on this matter.

 

“There was a petition written to the Attorney General of the Federation which is a complaint made against this prosecution. That was because we found out that this trial was a persecution, and we got a response from the AGF.

 

“The AGF requested for the file, but up till now, the EFCC has refused to send the case file to the AGF.

 

“This case is a matter of persecution and not prosecution. Based on that, we have an objection that this plea cannot be taken.

 

“I have a certified true copy of the letter the AGF wrote to the EFCC,” Onoja added.

 

Responding, EFCC’s lawyer, Mr. Ufem Uket, said though he only saw the said letter from the AGF in the courtroom, he argued that a mere petition was not sufficient enough to abort the planned arraignment of the Defendants.



“My lord, it is not in doubt that the AGF has powers to intervene, continue or discontinue a case.

 

“However, the fact that a petition has been written to the AGF, does not stop the plea from being taken”, he argued.

 

Meanwhile, trial Justice Inyang Ekwo noted that the intervention of the AGF in the matter created a constitutional issue that would not be summarily dismissed by the court.

 

He, therefore, ordered all the parties to file process to address the court on whether it should proceed to take plea of the Defendants in view of the new development.

 

“I have heard the arguments from lawyers. I am not going to treat this matter lightly.

 

“Therefore, I make an order that the prosecution shall file and serve a written address on this matter within 30 days, which will be limited to 15 pages.

 

“Learned counsel of the seventh defendant are to file a response. I will also order the the other learned counsels file written addresses upon being served by the prosecution”.

 

While adjourning the matter till February 10, 2022, for adoption of written addresses, the court held that the Defendants should continue on administrative bail that was earlier granted to them by the EFCC.

 

It will be recalled that Oduah had earlier decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

 

EFCC had in charge, alleged that Oduah and Odita who was identified as her aid and the Company Secretary to Sea Petroleum & Gas Company Ltd (SPGC), in February 2014, used their positions to transfer the sum of N1,629,250,000.00 from I-Sec Security Nig. Ltd account No. 2021756955 with First Bank Plc, to Global Offshore and Marine Ltd account No. 2022977296 also domiciled with First Bank Plc, which money they reasonably ought to have known that it formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act.



Oduah and Odita were in count 24, accused of opening a naira “anonymous Private Banking Nominee Account No. 2024414450 with First Bank Plc and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 11(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (As Amended) and punishable under Section 11(4) (a) of the same Act.”

 

They were, equally accused of opening a United State dollar “anonymous Private Banking Nominee account No. 2024414498 with First Bank Plc and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 11(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (As Amended) and punishable under Section 1 1(4) (a) of the same Act.”

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