Tuesday, 26 July 2011

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/25655-n5bn-alleged-money-laundering-court-acquits-enugu-ex-perm-sec

A former permanent secretary in the Enugu State civil service, Mr Sylvia Onwuebemeli, was, on Monday, acquitted and discharged of corruption charges by Justice Charles Archibong of a Federal High Court in Lagos.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had dragged the former permanent secretary; the former governor of Enugu State, Chimaroke Nnamani and nine others to court, on a 124-count charge of alleged money laundering and economic crime to the tune of about N5 billion.

In a ruling on her application, which was filed in November 2008, in which she sought the order of the court to strike out her name as the sixth accused in the charge, Justice Archibong, on Monday, held that she had no case to answer and that the charges against her was not known to the law.

The judge, while acquitting and discharging the applicant, noted that the EFCC 2004 Act, upon which she was being tried for money laundering, could not be applied retrogressively, adding that the commission did not have enough evidence linking her to the crime.

It will be recalled that Onwuebemeli was re-arraigned by the EFCC, with Senator Nnamani and nine others on October 27, 2010 on a 124-count charge of alleged money laundering.

Meanwhile, the trial of Nnamani and others left on the charge has been stalled, owing to a letter by the EFCC to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, dated June 27, 2011, seeking for the transfer of the case to another judge, as a result what the commision described as “certain comments and conducts of Justice Archi-bong which are prejudicial to the case.”