The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has re-arraigned Akinola Ogunlewe alongside his company, B.C.E. Consulting Engineers Limited before Justice A.R. Muhammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
They were re-arraigned on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, on twelve counts of amended charges, bordering on forgery, obtaining the fraudulent documents and criminal possession as well as money laundering to the tune of $22,630,000.00 (Twenty Two Million, Six Hundred and Thirty Thousand United States Dollars).
One of the counts reads; “That you Akinola Ogunlewe trading under the name and style of BCE Consulting Engineers, sometime in July 2021, in Abuja, within the Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, took control of the sum of $22,630, 000.00 (Twenty-two million, six hundred and thirty thousand United States Dollars) plus accrued interest thereon when you reasonably ought to have known that the said funds form part of your unlawful activities to wit: forging the signature of Babajide Soyode (alias Babatunde Soyode) on contract documents with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and thereby committed an offense contrary to Section 15(2)(d) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 (as amended).”
The defendants pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them.
Defense Counsel, Agbo Adeboruwa, SAN, informed the court that he had filed an application before the court seeking to quash the case. However, prosecution counsel, Bala Sangha, countered Adeboruwa that a counter affidavit, opposing his application, has been placed before the court.
Sangha further stated that the application of the defense was not a jurisdictional issue, “it did not challenge the jurisdiction of this court.” He added that counts nine to twelve of the charge have to do with the failure of the defense to file a report to the EFCC as required under Sections 5 and 9 of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended).
Justice A.R Muhammed adjourned the matter to October 26, 2022, for ruling and possible continuation of trial, depending on the outcome of the ruling.
The judge allowed the defendant to continue with his bail.
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