Stella Oduah in Court
The arraignment of Stella Oduah and CCECC for the alleged N5 billion fraud has been adjourned multiple times since the case was filed in December 2020.
After over two and half years of failed attempts, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has finally arraigned a former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, and a Chinese construction giant, CCECC, on N5 billion fraud charges that have been filed against them since December 2020.
The arraignment had been postponed up to 15 times for various reasons, including difficulties in serving some of the defendants and, at another time, the prying of the Attorney-General of the Federation’s office into the case.
Long adjournments in between hearing dates and an anonymous petition written against the trial judge, Inyang Ekwo, had also contributed to the delays the case has suffered.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that EFCC arraigned Ms Oduah, who represented Anambra North Senatorial District in the 9th Senate, and CCECC, alongside seven others, on Friday.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the 25 money laundering charges, which they allegedly committed between 31 March and 6 June 2014.
Alongside Ms Oduah, CCECC Nigeria Ltd, the Nigerian subsidiary of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) established by the Chinese government to execute international contracts and economic cooperation, is one of the leading defendants fingered in the case.
Another of the co-defendants is Gloria Odita (2nd defendant), who is said to be an aide to Ms Oduah when she was Minister of Aviation and company secretary of Sea Petroleum & Gas Company (SPGC) Limited, a firm founded by the former minister.
The rest include an employee of SPCG and aide to Ms Oduah, Nwobu Nnamdi (3rd defendant), Chukwuma Chinyere, Global Offshore and Marine Ltd, Tip Top Global Resources Ltd, Crystal Television Limited, and Sobora International Limited.
Chequered history
Ms Oduah’s absence from court on different occasions contributed considerably to the stalling of proceedings in the case.
In July 2021, seven months after the case was filed, the judge threatened to issue a warrant for her arrest over her failure to appear in court for arraignment.
Ms Oduah was not in court at the proceedings along with the defendant, Chukwuma Chinyere.
Ms Chukwuma’s lawyer, Odion Odia, told the judge that his client was ill and could not make her way from Asaba, Delta State, to the court.
Well over a year after the case was filed in court, some defendants had yet to be served with the charges.
Proceedings were stalled on 9 February and 10 May 2022 on the grounds of non-service of the charges on the defendants.
In 2022 alone, the case was adjourned on seven occasions, stalling arraignments during a protracted wait for legal advice concerning the case from then Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
Mr Malami’s legal advice approving the trial only came in October 2022.
The prosecuting lawyer, Hassan Liman, told the trial judge of the AGF’s letter dated 11 October 2022.
The judge had then fixed 13 February 2023 for arraignment and four subsequent days, 14 February to 17, for trial.
He warned lawyers to the parties in the suit to be prepared for the scheduled day-to-day trial, adding that he would not take any objection to the admissibility of documentary evidence.
“Objection to the admissibility of documentary evidence will be taken at the end of the trial,” Mr Ekwo said.
The judge directed the prosecuting lawyer “to bind and paginate all documentary evidence of the prosecution witnesses.”
Mr Liman told the court that 32 witnesses are set to testify against Ms Oduah and her co-defendants.
He explained that the long adjournment gave the prosecution and defence teams “adequate time for trial.”
But the case has not progressed since the beginning year, with much of the time devoted to preliminary intervening issues.
The judge only cleared the case for arraignment on 17 July, when the judge also asked EFCC to investigate the persons behind an anonymous petition sent against him to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.
Charges
This newspaper reported how the EFCC, on 17 December 2020, filed 25 counts accusing the defendants of laundering various sums of money totalling about N5,052,415,984 between February and June 2014.
The EFCC accused the defendants of conspiracy to commit money laundering, transferring, taking control and taking possession of proceeds of fraud, aiding and abetting money laundering and opening anonymous bank accounts.
Specifically, the prosecution alleged in two of the 25 counts that Ms Oduah and Ms Odita opened anonymous “Private Banking Nominee” dollar and naira accounts with First Bank, thereby committing 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.
Review of the charges showed that CCECC Nigeria Limited allegedly transferred over N2.5 billion into the naira account of a Private Banking Nominee between March 31 and June 6, 2014.
In seven of the counts where CCECC is indicted singly and along with Ms Oduah and Ms Oditah, the company was accused of “conspiring with the women to commit money laundering, and directly transferring to Private Banking Nominee account various sums of money totalling N2,583,385,246 which it reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity to wit: fraud…”
The prosecution alleged, for instance, in Count 17, that CCECC Nigeria, “on various dates between March 5, 2014, and May 30, 2014” in Abuja, “directly transferred the sum of N868409,349.00 from your account with Zenith Bank Place to Private Banking Nominee Account 2024414450 domiciled with First Bank Plc, which money you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: fraud…”
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