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Witness Alleges Shady Cash Withdrawals As Lagos Speaker’s Trial Resumes

The trial of  the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, continued on Tuesday with the first prosecution witness detailing how the … Continue reading Witness Alleges Shady Cash Withdrawals As Lagos Speaker’s Trial Resumes


Lagos Speaker IkuforijiThe trial of  the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, continued on Tuesday with the first prosecution witness detailing how the defendants allegedly laundered millions of Naira.

Mr. Ikuforiji and his aide, Mr Oyebode Atoyebi, are facing a 54 count amended charge of money laundering amounting to over N600 million.

The witness, who is a Principal Detective Superintendent (PDS) with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr Adebayo Adeniyi, told the court how the defendants collected N13.5 million for honorarium, N4.5 million for renovation of the Speaker’s residence, and N1.5 million for the Speaker’s Guest House for six consecutive months.

The EFCC had accused the Speaker and his aide of receiving the money from the Lagos State House of Assembly without passing through a financial institution.

Mr. Adeniyi, in his testimony also stated how the Lagos State House of Assembly paid millions of Naira to Mr. Ikuforiji; his wife, Mayowa; his orderly; his personal assistant; as well as the state’s Deputy Speaker.

All the monies were collected by the Speaker’s aide, Mr. Atoyebi and paid in cash.

Mr. Adeniyi also testified that the Permanent Secretary, who along with the Director of Finance are signatories to the account, withdrew the money from the Lagos State House of Assembly’s account.

Under cross examination, the witness, however, admitted that he was not aware of what the Speaker used the monies for, neither was he aware that they were used for any illegal activity.

The trial continues on April 28.