Former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Andrew Yakubu has asked a Federal High Court, Abuja to refuse the use of an exhibit of alleged money laundering against him sought to be tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
When the trial came up on wednesday, counsel for Yakubu, Ahmed Raji said the Exhibit ‘J’ sought to be relied on for his cross examination by the EFCC are hinged on counts one and two of the charges which were in April struck out by the Court of Appeal.
Raji argued that having struck out the two charges the remaining counts three and four before the high court cannot sustain the allegation of money laundering .
The prosecution counsel, Mohammed Abubakar maintained that Exhibit J, which is a record of the testimony of Yakubu about illegal oil lifting as a witness in the trial of the managing Director of Atlantic Energy Brass Development Ltd, Jide Omokare and others while still GMD in 2016, is relevant to the case.
Both EFCC and Yakubu have appealed against the judgement of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division at the Supreme Court which struck out four out of the six charges levelled against Yakubu.
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The trial judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed therefore adjourned trial to October 15.
Yakubu was arraigned on March 16, 2017, on a six-count charge of failure to make full disclosure of assets, receiving cash without going through a financial institution and traced to a house in a community in Kaduna State to the tune of $9,772,800 and £74,000.
On October 17, 2018, the prosecution closed its case after calling its seventh witness, an EFCC operative, Suleiman Mohammed who gave evidence regarding how the commission on February 3, 2017, recovered the sum of $9,772,000 and £74,000 stashed in a huge fireproof safe in a building located at Sabon Tasha area of Kaduna State.
But in his evidence, Yakubu denied all allegations saying that the said monies are a gift and filed a no-case submission.
(Editor: Nkoli Omhoudu)
