Date Published: 04/27/10

N90m Fraud: EFCC opposes bail for fraudster over record of conviction in US

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has filed a fresh application to oppose the bail being sought by an ex-convict and Lagos socialite, Mr Sunday Akinyemi before a Lagos high court presided over by Justice J.O Oke. The judge is billed to hear the matter on Thursday April 29.

Akinyemi who is wanted by security agents in the United States over fraud was arrested in Nigeria in March over his complicity in a N90 million scam . He had been convicted in Houston, Texas, USA for money laundering in 1993. He fled to the state of Florida where he was again arrested in 2004 for card fraud related offences. He thereafter jumped bail and fled to Nigeria where he eventually ran into the net of EFCC for yet another fraud case.

Justice Oke Lawal of the Lagos High Court had on March 24 refused the bail application sought by Sunday Akinyemi and Olu Osho who are both facing a 30 count charge of conspiracy to steal, stealing, forgery and uttering. The judge ordered that the accused persons be remanded in prison custody pending the hearing of the case. The accused persons were said to have conspired to steal millions of naira from Texas Connection Ferries Limited.   

The presiding judge had stated in his ruling that “the prosecutor has placed before the court evidence of criminal antecedents of the defendant coupling with the other factors of the nature of the charges, strength of evidence, the severity of the punishment, likelihood of repetition of offence, danger of accused absconding and/or interfering with the witness. I find that the prosecution has placed weighty evidence before the court.

 “The contention of counsel to the applicant that the court should not take into consideration the exhibits attached because they are certified by the USA and are photocopies is irrelevant at the stage as admissibility issues are not for consideration at this stage, and oral evidence cannot be given by counsel from the bar to discredit the content of a document.”

The Honourable Justice stated further in his ruling that “there is always the discretion to refuse bail if the court is satisfied that there are substantial grounds for believing that the applicant will abscond or interfere with witnesses or obstruct justice or on the record of convictions or likelihood of repetition of offence and real evidence that accused will suppress or interfere with witnesses or evidence,” .

“It is clear in this case that the prosecution has placed before the court weighty reasons why the applicant should not be granted bail. The facts have not been discredited by the applicant. The facts as contained in the documents attached to the counter affidavit is unchallenged and uncontradicted: Malla Vs Abubakar (2007)FWLR 1869 AT 1607”.   

Justice Oke Lawal’s refusal to grant bail to the accused persons is in no doubt sequel to the submission of EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo who told the court to refuse the accused persons bail. He said the first accused has jumped bail in the US and that there was no guarantee that he would not jump bail again. Indeed, an enquiry from the US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation by EFCC Operatives lent credence to this. A letter from the Office of Legal Attaché, US Consulate General, Lagos stated thus: “Per US Criminal history checks conducted on 27 April 2009, Sunday Akinyemi, also known as (AKA) Sunny Osho Akinyemi, Sunny Adigun and Oladunni Akinyemi, Date of Birth 6 December 1955 (also used 5 November 1948 and 14 June 1955) was arrested in July 1993 by the Drug Enforcement Administration in Houston, Texas on charges on money laundering, conspiracy and possession of heroin. On 22 September 1995 he was convicted and sentenced to 108 months in prison, after violating terms of pre-trial release on 10 August 1993.” Also “On 10 November 2004, Akinyemi was arrested by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Jacksonville, Florida on charges of income tax violations. Akinyemi failed to appear for judicial proceedings and an arrest warrant was issued by the US Marshals Service in Houston, Texas for his arrest on 9December 2004” the letter stated.   

Even before the accused persons were arraigned on March 11, 2010, counsel to the accused filed a notice of preliminary objection. In his objection, the accused stated that the court lacks jurisdiction to try the offences as they were offences allegedly committed against a corporate body registered by the Corporate Affair Commission under the Companies and Allied Matters Act. He further stated that the EFCC lacks the power to investigate any of the offences as it was not empowered by the Corporate Affairs Commission under the relevant provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act. However, Justice Lawal dismissed his application stating that the High Court has unlimited jurisdiction to determine criminal proceedings as stated in S272 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) and the court is duly constituted. On the allegations that EFCC cannot investigate the case, the Judge stated that “there is nothing in the provisions of the companies and allied matters act which denied the police or EFCC the power or authority to investigate allegation of crime.”

After losing the initial bid to get bail, Akinyemi changed his lawyer and filed another application for bail through his new counsel, Professor Ibidapo Obe. The application was however filed before another judge, Justice J.O Oke on April 16. In the his response, the EFCC counsel has told the court that the fresh bid is an abuse of court process, while he attached the judgement of Justice Lawal as well as the criminal record of Akinyemi in the US to support his claim. 

Femi Babafemi

Head, Media & Publicity

27/4/2010