Posted by Tobi Soniyi and Michael Faloseyi, Abuja on
Former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun, was on Friday re-arrested and taken into police custody, following the discovery of fresh money laundering offences by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun, was on Friday re-arrested and taken into police custody, following the discovery of fresh money laundering offences by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Balogun was re-arrested at about 3.15 pm in the premises of the Federal High Court, Abuja, located at the Organisation of African Unity's quarters in Maitama District, and taken to an unknown police station.
The fresh discovery included his alleged transactions with Bond Bank Limited and his refusal to disclose his interest in the purchase of stocks, allegedly made on his behalf by companies linked to him.
The total sum allegedly laundered by him as shown in the new charges is around N16.3 billion.
EFCC's lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, told newsmen that the bank initially denied receiving any deposit from Balogun only for the commission to discover that there was another deposit of N1.169bn cash at the financial institution.
Jacobs said, 'Balogun was paying this money to become a shareholder in the bank. The Managing Director, John Darlington, was spending the money buying houses. He is presently in detention."
Consequently, EFCC filed fresh charges against Balogun and withdrew the earlier ones.
The fresh offences, which were not read to Balogun, were contained in 56 counts and this is the third time the commission would amend its charges against the former IG.
He was in court with his lawyers to argue an application to halt an expected ruling concerning EFCC's legality.
His lead counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), told the court that he wanted to withdraw the application to arrest the judgment.
Jacobs said he had no objection and the application was withdrawn.
The charge was duly amended by the order of the trial judge, Justice Binta Murtala Nyako while Jacobs asked for the court's permission to read the charges to Balogun.
Awomolo, however, objected on the grounds that the defence team had just been served with the new charges and would need time to study it, adding that the former IG's lawyers would have to consult with Balogun on the development before his plea could be taken.
Rotimi agreed to an adjournment but asked that the previous bail granted to Balogun be revoked. He prayed the court to issue an order remanding the accused person in police custody.
Awomolo did not object but asked for an early date, preferably Monday October 17, which Jacobs said was not convenient for him.
The judge also said that she would be attending a conference of women judges and would not be available for the next two weeks and ordered that Balogun be remanded in police custody until November 7.
After the order was made, a mild drama ensued. Balogun refused to leave the courtroom, to the dismay of EFCC's security operatives who waited impatiently outside the court's presmises for him to come out so that they could arrest him without creating a scene.
The operatives in turn declined to enter the courtroom to pick him, probably to avoid a repeat of what transpired in the premises of the Abuja High Court some months ago when EFCC's operatives manhandled Balogun while trying to re-arrest him.
Although the court's proceeding ended at about 10.30 am, Balogun did not come out of the courtroom until 3.15 pm.
Balogun was initially slammed with a 70-count charge but a few weeks later, these were amended and reduced to 50.
All the offences contained in the old charge sheet were retained with few modifications, with Bond Bank featuring conspicuously.
They include the charge that Balogun refused to disclose his interest in the bank's shares worth N1.2 billion when he was asked to do so by EFCC's operatives, which amounted to an offence punishable under Section 38 (2) (b) of the EFCC Act 2004.
Other new charges accused Balogun of refusing to disclose his interest in landed properties situated at various places in the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja even when EFCC's officials confronted him with the allegation that the properties in issue belonged to him while eight companies allegedly used by the former police boss to invest different sums of money were listed in the amended charge.
They are Yeboa Investment Limited, Caledonian Telecommunications Limited, Renovations Construction Limited, Aworo Investment Limited, Olatrade Limited, Yeboa Nigeria Limited and Ceejay Properties Nigeria Limited and Ivory Ventures Limited.
SATURDAY PUNCH, October 15, 2005