Court Orders Ex-JTF Commander, NIMASA Staff To Face Trial Over N8.5bn Fraud Allegations

Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ruled that a former Commander of the Joint Military Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield, Major-General Emmanuel Atewe (rtd.), and a staff of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Kime Engonzu, must face trial over allegations of N8.5 billion money laundering brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The ruling was delivered on Monday, April 22, 2024.

Atewe and Engonzu are standing trial on a 22-count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of N8, 537,586,798.58, which also involves a former Director-General of NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi, and Josephine Otuaga, also a staff of NIMASA.

One of the counts reads: “That you, Patrick Ziadeke Akpobolokemi, Major General Emmanuel Atewe, Kime Engozu, and Josphine Otuaga, sometime in 2014, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Court, with intent to defraud, conspired amongst yourselves to commit an offence to wit: conversion of the sum of N8,537,586,798.58 property of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.”

They pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, thereby prompting the commencement of their trial.

In the course of the trial, the prosecution called several witnesses and subsequently closed its case against the defendants.

However, the defendants, rather than open their defence, filed a no-case-submission.

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Akpobolokemi had, in a no-case submission, filed by his lawyer, Dr. Joseph Nwobike, SAN, prayed the court for an acquittal without having him present a defence.

Ruling on the no-case submission on Monday, Justice  Faji discharged and acquitted Akpobolokemi and Otuaga, the fourth defendant. He, however, ruled that Atewe, the second defendant, and Engonzu, the third defendant, should open their defence in counts 12 to 22 of the charge.