Court frees Atiku’s lawyer over alleged $2m fraud

Uyiekpen Giwa-Osagie, a lawyer to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has been cleared of any case of money laundering and financial wrongdoing.
A Federal High Court in Lagos dismissed a $2million money laundering charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Giwa-Osagie.

Delivering a ruling on Monday, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke held that the EFCC failed to establish that the money said to have been delivered to former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2019, was illegal.

The anti-graft agency had accused Giwa-Osagie of laundering the money ahead of the 2019 general elections in Nigeria. He is accused of handling the huge cash without going through any financial institution.

Also included in the charge filed by Rotimi Oyedepo, EFCC’s lawyer is Erhunse Giwa-Osagie, brother to Uyiekpen Giwa-Osagie.

In a three-count charge filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, the EFCC said the sum exceeded the amount authorised by law to be transacted in cash, contravened sections 18(a) and 1(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011, punishable under Section 16(2)(b).

The charges read: “That you Uyiekpen Giwa-Osagie and Erhunse Giwa-Osagie, sometimes in February 2019 in Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, conspired to commit an offence to wit: making cash payment of the sum of $2,000,000.00 (two million United State Dollars) without going through financial institution, which sum exceeded the amount authorised by law and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(a), and 1(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the same Act.

“That you Uyiekpen Giwa-Osagie, on or before the 12th day of February 2019 in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, procured Erhunse Giwa-Osagie to make cash payment of the sum of $2,000,000.00 without going through financial institution, which sum exceeded the amount authorised by law and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(c) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the same Act.

“That you Erhunse Giwa-Osagie, sometimes in February 2019 in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, made the payment of the sum of $2,000,000.00 without going through a financial institution, which sum exceeded the amount authorised by law and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 1(a). & 16(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (As Amended) and Punishable under section 16 of the Same Act.”