•Olufemi Thomas
The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has convicted a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Olufemi Thomas, for breaching Nigeria’s cash transaction limit law.
The court, however, cleared him of all money laundering allegations, reports Channels TV.
Delivering judgment, Justice Olayinka Faji acquitted Thomas on five of the six counts filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), ruling that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judge held on yesterday that the EFCC admitted during the trial that it did not investigate several claims made by the defendant and had not established that he was unlawfully enriched.
Consequently, the court ordered the EFCC to return all funds seized from Thomas within 14 days, subject to his payment of a ₦10 million fine.
The fine followed his conviction on count five, which involved making a cash payment that exceeded the ₦5 million threshold allowed by law.
“While the money was not proven to be proceeds of unlawful activity, the act of paying above the cash threshold is a violation,” the judge said.
Thomas was ordered to pay a ₦10 million fine in lieu of imprisonment and was barred from travelling abroad until the fine is fully paid.
The court also convicted the second defendant, Kabiru Sidi, on the only count against him — for falsely claiming ownership of $2.1 million during the EFCC’s investigation.
Thomas and Sidi were first arraigned on 28 June 2017 on an amended seven-count charge, including conspiracy, unlawful enrichment, and making false statements concerning the movement of $2,198,900 allegedly in cash.
In a statement by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the EFCC said the duo were arraigned by its Lagos Zonal Directorate 1.
Six of the charges against Thomas centred on money laundering and the unlawful transfer of cash, allegedly in violation of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended).
Sidi, on the other hand, was prosecuted for making a false statement to an EFCC official.
Both men pleaded not guilty at arraignment. In his final written address, prosecution counsel and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ekele Iheanacho, stated, “In line with the charge, the prosecution called six witnesses, and the defendant made a no-case submission, which was overruled and subsequently overruled by the Appellate Court on the grounds that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the defendant.
“The defendant entered his defence because the law required him to show how he acquired the funds legitimately. Part of his evidence was that he made the funds heavily from his farming businesses. The evidence of his farming was contained in his financial statement.”
While closing his argument, Iheanacho had also submitted, “This is a case of money laundering, where the issue of concealment of transaction is paramount, and that is why the law requires such transactions to go through financial institutions so that there will be a trial. Any application that suggests otherwise will defeat the basis of Section 1 of the Money Laundering Act.”
He therefore urged the court to discountenance the submissions of the first and second defendants and convict them as charged.
However, the court, in its judgment, acquitted the 1st defendant on the money laundering counts.
The EFCC has, however, indicated its readiness to appeal this decision.
