JUDICIARY
Malabu Oil, Others Fail to Comply with Money Laundering Law – Witness
By Gowon Emakpe, Abuja
Apart from Malabu Oil, which registered as a consultancy firm, the rest of the companies linked to the fraud and Aliyu Abubakar, were registered to carry out construction activities.
Mr Temitope Erinomo, a prosecution witness told a Federal High Court in Abuja, Thursday, how Malabu Oil and Gas Limited and six other companies charged with fraud in the Oil Prospecting Lease 245 transactions, had allegedly violated the money laundering law.
Erinomo is the Principal Compliance Officer at the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering in the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investments.
He gave his testimony as the first prosecution witness in the case of 67 counts of money laundering involving about $800m instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), against Malabu Oil, the six other companies and Abubakar.
Apart from Malabu Oil and Abubakar, the rest of the defendants are A-Group Construction Company Limited, Rocky Top Resources Limited, Mega Tech Engineering Limited, Novel Properties and Development Company Limited, imperial Union Limited and Carlin International Nigeria Limited.
All the defendants had pleaded not guilty to the 67 charges.
Led in evidence by EFCC Prosecuting Counsel, Bala Sanga, Erinomo said while Malabu Oil was registered as consultancy firm, the rest of the companies allegedly with link to Abubakar, were registered to carry out construction activities.
Erinomo said in his evidence-in-chief that considering the status of the seven firms as construction and consultancy firms, they were designated by the Ministry of Trade and Investments as Designated Non-Financial Institutions.
According to him, such firms were designated as DNFI in 2013 because of their high tendency of being used for money laundering.
Erinomo explained that the DNFI firms were mandated by the Money Laundering Prohibition Act to, among others, be registered with the ministry, submit statutory reports of their activities, and declare qualified transactions to the ministry and the EFCC.
He added that the firms were also required by law to put in place anti-money laundering measures, set up an internal audit to measure the effectiveness of the measures and appoint a compliance officer from among the members of the management staff.
He said the from the companies’ charters of organisation, they did not comply with the provisions of the money laundering law.
“We searched through our registration database and report database. We find out that these companies have not made any declaration to the ministry in compliance with the Act.
“We also found out that they do not submit their statutory reports to the ministry and the EFCC.
“They have not made the declaration of their activities to the ministry.
“They do not have a record of measures they have taken to combat money laundering.
“They do not have an internal audit unit to measure the effectiveness of the measures they have taken to combat money laundering.
“They do not appoint a compliance officer from among the management staff to ensure compliance.
“They also do not carry out training for their staff on anti-money laundering measures.
“We also uncovered several transactions that were not reported to EFCC.”
The witness also tendered reports of his findings, through the prosecuting counsel, and was admitted as exhibits.
Under cross-examination by Malabu Oil’s lawyer, Mr J. A Achimugu, Erinomo said he carried out an off-site inspection to ascertain the alleged violations by the firm.
Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa says the judiciary remains the hope of the common man in the society, charging officers in the temple of justice to always strive to be upright.Diri said this on Friday in Yenagoa at a Thanksgiving/Valedictory Court Section for the commencement of the 2025/2026 Legal Year in the state.
The governor said: “It has become an annual ritual but we all know that the bible says seek ye first the kingdom of God and all other things shall be added on to thee. “Today we are handing over this new legal year to God for His protection to the judiciary. I believe you are going to do beyond our expectations with God on your side.“In this country today without exception, I appeal to us Nigerians, Bayelsa people to allow the judiciary to be used by God, to be allowed to work to the best of their ability and conscience to deliver incorruptible and sound judgement.”Diri said that the trust of the public lies with the judiciary which demands justice for all manner of people, irrespective of the class in the society.The governor urged the judiciary especially the judges to always stand tall on what is right, as they are highly autonomous as an arm of the government.On her part, Justice Matilda Ayemieye, the Chief Judge of Bayelsa, commended the Bayelsa government for the support in various ways to ensure that the judiciary is autonomous.She said that the judiciary enjoys cordial working relationship with the Nigeria Bar Association, the Legislature and the Executive.The chief judge said that the new legal year allows them to assess the previous year, adding that it is a day of accountability towards the people they serve and to strengthen the rule of law.Ayemieye said that the Bayelsa judiciary aspires to be one of the best judiciary as they have earned respect among other judiciary in the country.Also, Mr Biriyai Dambo (SAN) the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, expressed happiness over the commencement of the new legal year.He said that they are committed to service delivery in Bayelsa and commended the bar and the bench for their hard work to ensure that justice is served in Bayelsa.The Commissioner said that for the past years the judicial system had changed and that the welfare of the judiciary and that of the Ministry Justice is one of the priorities of Diri’s administration which has paid in full all monies owed law officers.“This current administration has boosted the morale of law officers, as they have contributed to the justice delivery in Bayelsa state.“This current administration has equally assisted the NBA Yenagoa and Sagbama branches respectively. My office is wide open to enhance the justice system in Bayelsa state,” he said. (NAN)
The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed cybercrime charges filed by the Inspector-General of Police against a female medical doctor, Bolanle Aseyan. Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Peter Lifu discharged and acquitted Aseyan, stating that the police failed to prove the essential elements of the alleged offences.
The Inspector-General had arraigned Aseyan on a four-count charge of defamation, harassment, and intimidation against another doctor, Olufunmilayo Ogunsanya. The police alleged that Aseyan used social media platforms to harm Ogunsanya’s reputation. He was said to be her former boyfriend. The charges were filed under Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention) Act, which addresses online threats and cyber harassment. To support the case, the police presented three witnesses. Aseyan also called two witnesses to testify in her defence during the trial. Justice Lifu, while reviewing the matter, noted both doctors were once in a romantic relationship before it turned sour. He further observed that the two had sexual relations while in the United Kingdom and later made conflicting social media posts against each other. The judge held that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and therefore could not secure a conviction. Specifically, the judge said the defendant’s alleged Twitter handle used in the cyberbullying was not tendered as evidence before the court. Justice Lifu also said there was no proof of threats or intimidation, but rather evidence of a previous affectionate relationship. Consequently, the judge dismissed all four charges, discharged and acquitted Aseyan, and declared the case closed. He ordered the police to immediately return all seized items, including her international passport, upon service of the judgment. Aseyan said she met Ogunsanya online in 2019 and travelled to the United Kingdom in 2020, where she claimed she was raped. She stated that upon arrival in Leeds on March 7, 2020, tired and disoriented, Ogunsanya offered her wine shortly after she got to his home. She alleged that after taking the drink, she passed out and later woke up to find that he had allegedly had sex with her without consent. Aseyan further claimed that Ogunsanya maltreated her before she returned to Nigeria shortly after the alleged incident. (NAN) From Abdullahi Abubakar, Ilorin.
A Kwara State High court sitting in Ilorin has sentenced Abdulrahman Bello, a self-acclaimed cleric and the killer of Hafsoh Lawal, a final year student of the Kwara State College of Education to death, by hanging. This was contained in a judgement delivered by Justice Hannah Ajayi on Thursday, in which, four other defendants were set free and cleared of any wrongdoings.
Charged with five-count, the judge started by acquitting the four out of the five defendants namely Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Jamiu Uthman, Suleiman Muyideen and Abdulrahman Jamiu of any complicity, subsequently setting them free of taking part in the death of the victim (Hafsoh Lawal).
However, Justice Ajayi, while delivering judgment on the main culprit, described Bello’s act as cruel, wicked, and an extreme display of human wickedness, saying all evidence proved that Hafsoh was killed in order to be used for money ritual and trading in human parts.
The judge further noted that Abdulrahman’s confession of love and plan to marry the victim, are all concocted lies to lure her to his residence in order to kill her. She therefore sentenced Abdulrahman Bello to death by hanging while setting free the other four suspects not guilty.
It would be recalled that the victim went missing, sometimes in February 2025, shortly after attending the naming ceremony of a family member. When she left, but didn’t return later in the day, her parents went into panic mode, and search party was raised, and a complaint was lodged at the police station.
Her phone line was tracked, and traced to the suspect’s (as it were) area. Upon invitation and interrogation, it was discovered that he is a serial killer, who had killed many victims before Hafsoh.
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