December 1, 2010 01:23AM

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5647704-147/bayelsa_officials_want_speedy_money_laundering.csp

Bayelsa State government officials facing charges of money laundering and diversion of public funds yesterday urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to speed up the prosecution of the case for them, to clear their names.

The commission had, on March 23, charged four top officials of the state government, namely Francis Okoruko, Abbot Clinton, Ikhobo Anthony Howells, and Sylva Opuala - Charles. But since their arraignment, trial until now was yet to commence.

At the trial yesterday, the accused persons, through their counsel, Chris Uche and Sunday Ibrahim Ameh, expressed keenness to go into trial and withdrew their objection to the admissibility of a document sought to be tendered in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Festus Keyamo.

Mr. Keyamo had sought to tender the statement made to the EFCC by the 2nd accused person, Clinton Abbot, through his prosecution witness 1, Mr. Adebayo Adeniyi Oluwasegun, but Messrs. Uche and Ameh objected to the procedure on the premise that it would offend Section 36 [a] of the Evidence Act since he [Oluwasegun] was not incidental to the statement being made.

After a spell of arguments, the judge, Donatus Okoronwo, was to adjourn the matter to enable him rule. But Counsel to the accuse persons, eager to make progress with the trial, agreed to withdraw the objection after Mr. Keyamo had entered an undertaking that he would not rely on any other Investigating Police Officer [IPO] to tender any further evidence.

“My lord, I want to save our time and the time of the court by seeking to tender my exhibits through this witness, who is an IPO. I will not call any other if I am allowed to tender these documents through him,” Mr. Keyamo said.

In response, Messrs. Uche and Ameh said since Mr. Keyamo had entered the undertaking, the accused persons, in demonstration of their desire for speedy trial, would withdraw their objection so that progress can be made.

Trial date fixed

Accordingly, the statement sought to be tendered was admitted in evidence, after which the police officer recounted steps he took in the course of investigating the case.

Eventually, Mr. Keyamo applied for an adjournment, which the court granted. Trial was adjourned to December 14 and 15, 2010, for continuation.

The charges against the accused are, read in part, that “you, Francis Okokuro, Abbot T. Clinton, Ikobho Anthony Howells, and Charles Sylva Osuala (now at large), sometime between October 2009 and February 2010, at various places in Nigeria, including Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, did conspire to commit a crime; to wit: conversion of properties and resources amounting to N2billion, belonging to Bayelsa State government and derived from an illegal act, with the aim of concealing the illicit origin of the said amount and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 17(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act), 2004, and punishable under Section 14(1) of the same Act.”

The officials were accused of using the state government’s name to carry out several financial transactions, using various account numbers in at least four banks in the country with the intention of defrauding the state.