Trial commenced afresh on Monday in the money laundering charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, against former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode.
Mr. Fani-Kayode is facing a 40-count charge of laundering about 100 million naira.
The offence was allegedly committed while he served first as Minister for Culture and Tourism and then as Aviation Minister.
The trial began with the prosecution’s first witness, Mr. Okechukwu Okeke, testifying before the court.
Mr. Okeke, a Relationship Officer with First City Monument Bank, FCMB, said that Mr. Fani-Kayode’s account at the bank had become dormant.
He explained that the account was with First Atlantic Bank before it was acquired by Finbank, which was also acquired by FCMB.
The prosecution counsel, Mr Festus Keyamo, tendered Mr. Fani-Kayode’s bank statement of account between August 2008 and September 2012, but the inability to provide the bank statements between 2004 and 2008, the period during which Mr. Fani-Kayode served as minister ended the trial abruptly.
Efforts by the defence lawyer, Ifedayo Adedipe, to secure a long adjournment date for continuation of the trial was rebuffed by the judge who insisted that the trial had dragged on for too long.
Mr. Fani-Kayode was first arraigned in 2008 and since then, three judges have at different times handled his case.
Presiding Judge, Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, has fixed March 18 and 19 for continuation of the trial.
