Fani-Kayode slammed with N.2m fine over absence in court
A Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday ordered a former Minister of Aviation Femi Fani-Kayode to pay a fine of N200,000 for being absent from court for his re-arraignment, on the excuse of having bed rest.
The court had asked counsel to Fani-Kayode, Mr F. Ajudua to choose between revoking the bail of the second defendant or paying the fine.
In what has been a long-running case, Fani-Kayode was arraigned in 2016, alongside a former Minister of State for Finance, Nenadi Usman; Danjuma Yusuf, and a firm, Joint Trust Dimensions Ltd over N4.9bn alleged fraud.
The former minister, who was also the Director of Publicity for ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential campaign organisation for the 2015 election, was accused of conspiring with the others to, directly and indirectly, retain various sums which the EFCC claimed they ought to have reasonably known were proceeds of crime.
In one of the counts, the defendants were accused of conspiring among themselves to “indirectly retain the sum of N1,500,000,000.00, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: stealing.”
The four were also accused of indirectly retaining N300 million, N400 million, and N800 million, all proceeds of corruption, according to the EFCC.
Fani-Kayode was accused of directly using part of the money at various times.
For instance, he allegedly spent N250,650,000.00 between March 20 and 25, 2015.
He was also accused of making a cash transaction of N24 million to one Olubode Oke, said to still be at large, on February 12, 2015 “to Paste Poster Co of 125, Lewis Street, Lagos Island”.
There have been insinuations that one of the chief reasons why FFK jumped ship to the APC is to be let off this corruption trial.
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