DASUKIGATE: Wrong! I’m not seeking out of court settlement- FFK

Between Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK) and his lawyer, Ahmed Raji, there appears to be no common ground on how to best deal with an alleged case of N26 million fraud.

Earlier on Monday, Raji had made an appearance for Fani-Kayode before Justice John Tsoho of Federal High Court Abuja, arguing that he be allowed time to explore out of court settlement on the matter of alleged N26 million fraud against his client.

“My Lord, I am just coming into the case and so I crave your indulgence to enable me familiarise myself with the case.
“Secondly, looking at the facts of the case and money involved, I believe that there are other options we can explore.
“The case involves the sum of N26 million and the law allows you to explore the option of plea bargain and so many other options rather than go through trial,” said Raji, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on Monday.

However, hours after the plea had been entered, a statement credited to the embattled former Minster denied that he was considering out of court settlement in the DASUKIGATE scandal involving alleged laundering of over $2 billion budgeted for arms purchase.

FFK, speaking also on Monday through his media aide, Jude Ndukwe, said the plea bargain option was out of the question.

“Under no circumstances will Chief Fani-Kayode pay any money back to EFCC or any other government agency because he never collected any money from any government agency in the first place,” he said. He described the reports attributed to Raji as “false, embarrassing, and mischievous.”

In a five-count charge, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is accusing the ex-minister of collecting N26 million from the office of the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and using same for media campaign.

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