N25bn fraud: Lucky Igbinedion’s brother to pay N3m fine

A Federal High Court in Benin, Edo
State on Thursday sentenced a
younger brother of ex-Governor
Lucky Igbinedion, Michael, to a six-
year jail term for N25bn money
laundering offences.
An aide of the ex-governor, Patrick
Eboigbodin, was also jailed for 20
years for the same of offences.
However, the governor’s brother
has an option of paying N3m or
N1m for each of the three counts on
which he was found guilty to avoid
going to jail.
Eboigbodin sentencing on Thursday
is without an option of fine.
The two convicts and four
companies had been arraigned by
the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission on an 81-count charge
of money laundering during the
tenure of Lucky Igbinedion as
governor.
The four companies are Gava
Corporation Limited, Romrig
Nigeria Limited, PML Securities
Company Limited and PML Nigeria
Limited.
Justice A.M. Liman found Michael
guilty on counts 79, 80 and 81 of the
alleged charges while Eboigbodin
was found guilty on counts 50, 51,
52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58 and 59.
The judge also ordered the
forfeiture of the assets of PML
Limited to the Federal Government.
The company will also pay N250,000
fine.
Liman noted that the prosecution
had proved the alleged
collaboration by the accused
beyond reasonable doubts but he
discharged them all on the other
count charges on the grounds that
the prosecution failed to prove the
allegations.
The judge further explained that
the prosecution only proved
suspicion but failed to prove illicit
origin of funds deposited in the
named banks.
Earlier, the counsel to the first,
third, fourth, fifth and sixth accused
persons, Richard Ahonanuogho,
acknowledged that the 10-count
charges brought against his clients
centred on money laundering as
contained in Section 14 (1) of the
Money Laundering Act (2004) and
the law provided a sentence of two
to three years imprisonment.
He, however, urged the court to use
its discretion to award a fine or
apply a suspended sentence as the
first accused, the ex-governor’s
brother, was a first offender, in his
late 50’s and had not benefited
from the said offence.
Counsel to the second accused,
Abubakar Shamsudeen, had told
the court that his client, Eboigbodin
, had pleaded leniency based on his
age and being a first offender and a
victim of the office he occupied
when the offence was committed.
He, therefore, urged the court to
apply an option of fine, not below
N250,000 or N500,000, and not more
than N1m, in lieu of imprisonment.
But the counsel to the EFCC, Tayo
Olukotun, urged the court not to be
persuaded by the plea for leniency
by the accused, arguing that their
conviction would be in line with
the provision of the law and that
the call for suspended sentence
was not within the court’s
jurisdiction.
The prosecution also submitted
that the claim of non-criminal
benefit by the first accused was not
an issue because the crime had
already been established.