The Court of Appeal in Lagos on Friday upturned the conviction of four companies with bank accounts holding $15.5 million that was linked to Patience Jonathan, wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
A panel of three justices of the court, in a judgment delivered via Zoom, unanimously ruled that the conviction of the four companies by the Federal High Court in Abuja in November 2016 violated the constitutional principle of fair hearing.
PREMIUM TIMES got details of the judgment from lawyers from the two sides of the case on Friday.
Conviction
Babs Kuewunmi, the trial judge at the Federal High Court in Lagos, had on November 2, 2016, convicted the four companies of money laundering involving $15.5 million kept in their Skye Bank accounts.
The judge gave the decision after some individuals speaking for the firms pleaded guilty to the offences on their behalf when the charges were read in court.
The convicted firms are, Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development & Investment Co. Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited, and Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited.
They were on, September 15, 2016, arraigned on 15 counts of money laundering alongside a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to ex-President Jonathan, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, a lawyer, Amajuoyi Briggs, and a banker, Adedamola Bolodeoku.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which alleged that the funds were stolen from the State House, had earlier seized the funds from the companies.
While the acclaimed representatives of the firms pleaded guilty to the charges on behalf of the firms, Mr Dudafa, and the two others pleaded not guilty.
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GermoDon
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