N4.7 bn fraud: Court frees Rashidi Ladoja

IKOYI, Lagos, Nigeria – A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos today set free former governor of Oyo State, Chief Rashidi Ladoja who has been on trial over N4.7 billion fraud.

Ladoja is being tried alongside a former Commissioner for Finance in Oyo State, Waheed Akanbi. At the hearing today, Justice Mohammed Idris set free the former governor as well as his commissioner, Waheed Akanbi.

Justice Idris said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) has not furnished the court enough proof to convict the former governor and is commissioner for finance.

In one of the counts, Ladoja and Akanbi were accused of converting a sum of N1,932,940,032.48, belonging to Oyo State Government to their personal own, using a Guaranty Trust Bank account of a company, Heritage Apartments Limited.

The EFCC claimed that they retained the money sometime in 2007, despite their knowledge that it was a proceed of a criminal conduct. In another instance, Ladoja was accused of removing the sum of £600,000 from the state coffers in 2007 and sent it to Bimpe Ladoja, who was at the time in London.

The ex-governor was also accused of converting the sum of N42 million, belonging to the state and subsequently used it to purchase armoured Land Cruiser jeep. He was also accused of converting a sum of N728,600,000 and another N77,850,000 at separate times in 2007 to his own.

The EFCC claimed that Ladoja transferred the N77, 850,000 to one Bistrum Investments, which he nominated to help him purchase a property named Quarter 361, Ibadan, Oyo State.The EFCC told the court that Ladoja and Akanbi acted contrary to sections 17(a) and18 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 and were liable to be punished under sections 14(1), 16(a) (b) and 18(2) of the same Act.

Details later.