By Oscarline Onwuemenyi

ABUJA — The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has told a Federal High Court sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State presided over by Justice Marcel Awokulehin, that a former Nasarawa State governor, Aliyu Akwe Doma and six others standing trial on a 17-count criminal charge of laundering state funds totaling over N18 billion, have a case to answer.

The commission has, therefore, argued that the defendants’ applications seeking to quash the case before the court lacked merit and should be struck out.

The other accused persons are Senator John Dangoyi, Abdulmumin Jibrin, Timothy Anthony Anjide, Dauda Egwa, Suleiman Ibrahim, Broworks Ltd and Green Forest Investment Ltd.

At the resumed hearing of the case on Monday, May 21, 2012,  prosecution counsel, Dele Adesina, SAN who stood in for Kemi Pinhiero, SAN told the court that EFCC was opposing eight applications brought in by Doma and six other co-accused persons seeking to quash the case against them.

Counsel to all the accused persons excluding the 4th and 8th accused persons, S. I. Ameh, SAN, had earlier moved a motion to quash the charges preferred against them.  Also, counsel to Doma and Abdulmumin Jibrin, Charles Edosonwan, SAN, had  prayed the court to  discharge the accused persons on the grounds that prosecution did not disclose the element of crime in the charge, saying: “This is a criminal proceeding that ought not to proceed.”

He said the case was an attempt to criminalise government and that the trial was instituted because they once held government positions.

However, EFCC counsel argued that the accused persons’ counsel should have brought the application to quash the case before their plea was taken.

He said the case of Federal Republic of Nigeria vs. James Onanefe Ibori cited by the defence counsel was different from the case before the court.

He said by taking their plea, they had joined issues with the prosecution and had actually challenged the prosecution to prove the case for which they have been charged.  As to whether the charges are vague and ambiguous, Pinhiero urged the court to look at its record which showed that the accused persons having pleaded not guilty to the charges cannot go round to say the charges they listened to are now vague and ambiguous.”

The judge, after ruling that Doma and his co-accused persons have a case to answer, adjourned the case till June 11, 2012.