BY INNOCENT ANABA

LAGOS—A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, adjourned till July 11, to rule on the no-case submission by the defence, in the trial of Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, charged with money laundering.

Ikuforiji is standing trial alongside his aide, Oyebode Atoyebi, on an amended 56-count charge bordering on the offence.

Trial judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba, adjourned for ruling after defence counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, made a no case submission on behalf of his client.

Olanipekun had argued that the prosecution had not in any way, made out a case against the accused to warrant entering the dock to open his defence, arguing that the office of a Speaker of House of Assembly of a state was constitutionally created, and so, by parity of reasoning, the first accused was sovereign as presently constituted.

He noted that the charge against the accused largely dwelt on transacting with funds above the threshold stipulated by the Money Laundering Act, MLA, and not necessarily whether they were in cash or not.

Olanipekun argued that the accused had not been involved in any transaction within the contemplation of the Act, since all funds collected on his behalf, were based on requisition notes which were approved and handed over to banks, before cash was received.

He contended that the National Assembly would not have contemplated by the enactment of the Act, that the accused who had only obtained funds officially for the benefit of the Assembly, would now stand trial for performing his official duties.

Olanipekun also noted that the failure of the prosecution to demonstrate elements of conspiracy between the accused persons, also showed the futility of the proceedings before the court.