The Supreme Court has fixed January the 15th for judgment in the case of a former speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Adeyemi Ikuforiji, who is accused of fraud to the tune of N500 million.
The apex court after concluding the hearing of the case will determine whether or not Mr Ikuforiji should be tried afresh as ordered by the Court of Appeal.
Ikuforiji had earlier been discharged of the fraud charges by Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos on the ground that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission failed to establish a prima facie case against him.
But the EFCC, not being satisfied with Justice Buba’s ruling, appealed the judgment and the Court of Appeal, in November 2016, overturned Justice Buba’s verdict and ordered that Mr Ikuforiji be tried afresh by another judge.
The apex court also dismissed an appeal filed by Ikuforiji’s ex-aide, Oyebode Atoyebi, with whom he was charged with the alleged N600 million fraud.
In its submission before the supreme court, the anti-graft agency argued that Justice Buba erred in law when he pronounced that the charges against Ikuforiji and Atoyebi were incompetent because they were brought under the Money Laundering Act (2004).
It was however said to have been revoked by the same act as amended in 2011.
Source: Channels News
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