N8b fraud: Judge sends CBN workers to prison

Justice Ayo Emmanuel of the Federal High Court in Ibadan, Oyo state, on Tuesday ordered the remand at the Agodi Prisons’ custody of six Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) employees charged with N8 billion currency scam.

The accused – Patience Okoro Eye, Afolabi Johnson, Ilori Sunday, Kolawole Babalola, Olaniran Adeeola and Fatai Yusuf– were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

However, the accused pleaded not guilty to the five-count charge which bordered on conversion of government property, fraudulently enriching themselves, having assets beyond their legitimate income and omission of material particulars from a document.

Justice Emmanuel ruling on the oral bail application made by the six defence counsel ordered the remand of the accused at the Agodi Prisons in Ibadan.

He said that after considering the weight of the charges and proofs of evidence tendered by the prosecution, the court could not grant the oral bail application.

The judge directed the defence counsel to file a written-bail application on behalf of their clients and adjourned hearing on the bail application to June 9.

Emmanuel also fixed July 6 and July 7 for the start of the trial. Earlier, Chief Olayinka Bolanle, counsel to the fourth accused, Kolawole Babalola, had made an oral application for bail for his client.

Bolanle said that the court had the discretion to grant an oral bail application if the offence of the accused was not a capital one.

He argued that Section 35 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigerian, 1999, provided that an accused is deemed innocent until the contrary is proved before a court of law.

The other defence counsel, Messrs Bola Alabi, K. Lawal, A.O. Ajayi, Kanmi Olaleye and B.B.M Asein, who were holding the brief for Mr Olalekan Ojo, all adopted the argument of Bolanle.

Mr. Ubani, former NBA chairman, Ikeja said, “They must be waking up because of the period of the change in which we are. This country is a failed state. What is the CBN doing about even those people who hawk new currency notes? You lose up to N500 when you even buy new notes

from them?”hese suspects have beenguys are all making millions of money. And it is CBN staffers that make these notes available to them. Civil servants are the people killing this country.”

However, the EFCC counsel, Mr Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), opposed the oral

bail application and asked the court to remand the accused in custody. Jacobs said that in view of the gravity of the offences, the accused should be remanded in prison custody pending when the court would receive a written application for bail.

The EFCC, in the charge, alleged that the six CBN staff colluded and on Aug. 5, 2014, contributed to the economic adversity of the country by failing to destroy a box containing N10 million marked “Counted Audited Dirty” and instead destroyed newspapers as against the amount.

It said that the accused, instead of destroying the mutilated currency  totaling N10 million in N1,000 denominations during CBN briquetting exercise in Ibadan, put the money back in circulation, thereby increasing fiscal liquidity.

The charge also said that the first, second and third accused on Sept.

5, 2014, made false report to the CBN headquarters in Abuja on the briquetting exercise conducted in Ibadan.