The Federal High Court Sitting in Lagos has commenced trial in the case against the former Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, and three others
Presiding Justice Rilwan Aikawa held that an application filed by Mr Fani-Kayode challenging the venue of the proceedings could not stall the commencement of trial.
The EFCC had contended that the application seeking a transfer of the case to Abuja was a ploy to stall the trial and had urged the court to take it alongside the substantive suit.
The court upheld this argument and commenced trial with the testimony of the first prosecution witness, one Olusegun Idowu.
Mr Fani Kayode; a former Finance Minister, Nenadi Usman; one Danjuma Yusuf and a company, Joint Trust Dimension Nig. Ltd, are facing trial on 17 counts of money laundering and alleged diversion of N4.9billion preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
The court today also granted the request of Senator Nenadi Usman to be allowed to travel to the USA for a period of three weeks for medical treatment.
The Chief Registrar of the court has been directed to release her international passport to enable her travel within the months of July and August. She is to return the passport to the court not later than the 31st of August
The trial will continue on June 9, 2017.
