The Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed December 11 for the re-arraignment of a former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, and his aide, Oyebode Atoyebi. Ikuforiji and Atoyebi are facing 54 counts of money laundering.
Justice Mohammed Liman fixed December 11, 2019 for their re-arraignment on Wednesday after the defence counsel, Tunde Akinrinmisi, prayed for an adjournment. The prosecuting counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Rotimi Oyedepo, while grudgingly conceding to the adjournment, lamented that;
“This is a case that the prosecution has given evidence and closed its case but Justice Ibrahim Buba discharged the defendants on no-case submission, which EFCC re-arraigns Ikuforiji on December 11. Here we are six years after.”
EFCC is accusing Ikuforiji and Atoyebi of laundering N600m belonging to the Lagos State House of Assembly. However, following a no-case submission by their lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Justice Ibrahim Buba, in a September 2014 ruling, discharged them on the entire 54 counts pressed against them by the EFCC.
Not pleased, the EFCC appealed to the Court of Appeal, which on November 2016, overruled Justice Buba and ordered Ikuforiji and Atoyebi to return to the court to be retried before another judge.
Dissatisfied with the appellate court’s pronouncement, Ikuforiji and Atoyebi appealed to the Supreme Court; but in June 2018, the apex court upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal and ordered the ex-Speaker and his aide to return to the high court to be retried.
