Money Laundering: Former Lagos Speaker Withstands Scandalous Storm, Denies Allegations

• A former Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker has denied charges of money laundering by the EFCC.

• Ikuforiji claimed that his trial was politically motivated.

• Ikuforiji’s defense’s team argued that the initial allegations by the EFCC were related to fraud and misappropriation of funds, which were later changed to money laundering.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that former Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, has denied charges of money laundering brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

During his defense in a Federal High Court in Lagos, Ikuforiji claimed that his ongoing trial was politically motivated and based on a faceless petition without the name or address of the writer.

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Ikuforiji’s lawyer, Dele Adesina SAN, led the defense’s argument and emphasized that the initial allegations by the EFCC were related to fraud and misappropriation of funds, which were later changed to money laundering. The former speaker expressed disappointment that he is facing trial based on an anonymous petition accusing him of committing fraud of over N7 billion.

Ikuforiji, who served as Speaker for three terms, asserted that if he had committed such infractions, the members of the House would have first impeached him and handed him over to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

He denied the money laundering allegations, explaining that his role as the head of the legislative arm of government was to give final approval on memos after the Office of the Clerk and the Finance Department had completed their respective processes. He clarified that he did not handle cash or disburse funds, as those responsibilities fell under the purview of the Office of the Clerk and the Finance Department.

Regarding his personal assistant, Oyebode Atoyebi, the second defendant in the case, Ikuforiji stated that Atoyebi collected money or cash for the Office of the Speaker, which had over 100 staff members, and not for his personal benefit. Ikuforiji emphasized that Atoyebi was responsible for collecting money for the running of the Speaker’s office and allowances for other staff.

During the trial, witnesses provided supporting evidence. Ibisola Olawoyin Ogayemi, a former deputy Clerk of the Lagos State House of Assembly, confirmed the role of the Clerk as the Chief Accounting Officer of the House. Ogayemi explained the financial transaction process, where documents would be sent to the Speaker for approval before being returned to the Office of the Clerk and the Finance Department for further action.

Another witness, Kayode Motunrayo, a former branch manager at First Bank of Nigeria, testified that when the bank received cheques for payment from government institutions or agencies, including the Oyo State House of Assembly, the bank would carry out the disbursement in conjunction with officials from the finance department of the respective agency.

The case was adjourned until June 1 and 2 for the continuation of the trial. Ikuforiji and his former personal assistant, Atoyebi, had pleaded not guilty to the 54-count charge of money laundering.

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The EFCC had accused them of accepting cash payments above the threshold set by the Money Laundering Act without going through a financial institution. The alleged offenses took place between April 2010 and July 2011.

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