EFCC arraigns Lagos Speaker, aide for money laundering

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, before a Federal High Court in Lagos for money laundering.
Also arraigned in the court presided over by Justice Okechukwu Okeke on Thusday was the Speaker’s Personal Assistant, Oyebode Atoyebi.
The accused were charged with amended 20 counts of money laundering.
The EFCC alleged that between April 2010 and July 2011, the accused conspired to illegally accept various cash payments of N510m from the House of Assembly without going through a financial institution.
The arraignment before Justice Okeke followed the transfer of the case by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, from Justice John Tsoho, who earlier disqualified himself from the case.
EFCC’s counsel, Godwin Obla, had earlier sought that the charge should be read to the defendants.
The defence counsel, Tayo Oyetibo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, did not object to the reading of the charge to his clients.