Court reserves ruling on EFCC prayer to inspect $9.8m, £74,000 cash allegedly looted by ex-NNPC GMD, Yakubu

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday reserved till February 17 to rule on a prayer to inspect $9,772,800 and £74,000 allegedly looted by a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had prayed the court, presided over by Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed, to visit the Kano branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to inspect the foreign currencies which are instrumental to the charges brought against Yakubu.

The EFCC said that the defendant received huge sums of money without going through a financial institution.

At the resumed trial on Thursday, the prosecution counsel M.S. Abubakar prayed for an order of court to move to CBN Kano branch for the purpose of inspection of the sums of $9,772,800 and £74000 which are respective subjects of counts three and four of the charge.

READ ALSO: Court orders ex-NNPC boss Yakubu to enter defence in $9.8m fraud charge

Abubakar urged the court to grant the Locus in quo in the overall interest of justice.

However, defence counsel Ahmed Raji (SAN), who adopted his counter affidavit and other processes urged the court to dismiss the application by the prosecution.

The learned silk argued that counts three and four can be effectively determined without a physical inspection of the cash sums of $9,772,800 and £74000.

Yakubu was arraigned on a six count charge of money laundering. But four of the counts were struck out through a no case submission, leaving counts three and four.

The EFCC, acting on a whistleblower information, had raided the defendant’s guest house situated at Sabon Tasha, Kaduna State, and recovered the alleged loot in a fireproof safe.

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