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By correspondent in Abuja.
(C) Facebook.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday re-arraigned the Accountant-General of Bauchi State, Mr. Sirajo Jaja, alongside a Bureau de Change (BDC) operator, Aliyu Abubakar, over alleged money laundering amounting to N1.63 billion.
The defendants were re-arraigned before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a five-count second amended charge bordering on financial crimes.
Both Jaja and Abubakar pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecution counsel, Abba Mohammed, SAN, told the court that the amended charge, filed on January 5, should take precedence over all pending applications, in line with Section 396(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015. He urged the court to direct the defendants to take their plea.
However, the counsel to the first defendant, Gordy Uche, SAN, opposed the move, insisting that a pending motion challenging the competence of the charge should be heard first. Mohammed disagreed, maintaining that the law requires the amended charge to be addressed before any interlocutory applications.
In a brief ruling, Justice Egwuatu ordered that the charge be read, after which the defendants entered their not guilty plea.
Following the plea, the defence counsel,Gordy Uche, SAN, and Chris Uche, SAN,applied for their clients to continue on existing bail terms, a request not opposed by the prosecution and subsequently granted by the court.
Gordy Uche thereafter moved a motion on notice, dated January 8, seeking to strike out Counts 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the charge on grounds of incompetence.
He argued that the counts amounted to duplicity and could expose the defendants to double jeopardy.
Chris Uche aligned with the argument, urging the court to uphold the application.
But Mohammed opposed the motion, contending that each count relates to distinct financial transactions conducted on different dates, thereby making them legally sustainable.
Citing Section 392(2) of the ACJA, Justice Egwuatu reserved ruling on the motion until the conclusion of the trial.
The prosecution then opened its case by calling its first witness, Abimbola Williams, a Compliance Officer with United Bank for Africa (UBA).
Williams, who said she has over 20 years of banking experience, testified that the bank received a request from the EFCC seeking account statements of certain customers under investigation, including Bauchi State Sub-Treasury and Jasfad Resources Enterprise.
According to her, the bank complied by providing certified true copies of the requested documents, which were tendered in court and admitted as exhibits.
She further told the court that multiple transactions allegedly involved the transfer of funds from the Bauchi State Sub-Treasury Account to the account of Jasfad Resources Enterprise, domiciled in UBA.
Although the defence raised objections to the admissibility of the documents, they reserved detailed arguments for their final written addresses.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter until May 12 for continuation of trial.
In the charge, the EFCC alleged that between October 29 and December 31, 2024, the defendants and others at large conspired to launder over N1.2 billion belonging to the Bauchi State Government.
The prosecution also alleged that between January 3 and March 14, 2025, the defendants converted an additional N426.1 million of public funds through similar transactions.
The offences are said to contravene provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
