Politics
N650M FRAUD: EFCC refuses ex-FCT Minister, Akinjide’s plea bargain
A plea bargain option sought by a former Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Olajumoke Akinjide, over her alleged fraud of N650 million, was on Tuesday rejected by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC is prosecuting Akinjide and two others, Senator Ayo Adeseun, and Chief Olanrewaju Otiti, for allegedly receiving N650 million cash from a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, in the build-up to the 2015 general elections.
The commission had earlier on January 16, 2018, arraigned Akinjide before a Federal High Court in Lagos over the matter.
When the case came up on Tuesday, the defendant indicated intention to enter into a plea bargain with the anti-graft agency.
Her counsel, Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), told the Federal High Court in Lagos that understanding was being made for a refund of the N650 million.
The anti-graft agency’s prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, who confirmed that Ayorinde had approached him for settlement, however argued that the case before the court was not merely about the funds, as the EFCC had already recovered the N650 million.
READ ALSO: More intrigues as Police IGP goes after IBB’s spokesman Afegbua
According to Oyedepo, the case before the court was rather about the nature of the funds and the manner the defendants handled them.
The EFCC had claimed that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities, accusing Akinjide and others of handling the N650 million cash without going through any financial institution, contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears
Click here to join the Ripples Nigeria WhatsApp group for latest update
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...