There was a mild drama at the Federal High Court , Lagos today, when a man who stood surety for his brother currently standing trial for an alleged concealment of drug money suddenly slumped while listening to court pronouncement remanding him in prison custody for allegedly using fake document as bail bond for his brother.
Ekene Calistus Winsu who stands surety for his brother Ogbo Emmanuel Obiora collapsed when asked questions on the authenticity of the tittle documents of a landed property he used as surety to secure the bail of his brother from custody.
Winsu who admitted ownership of the passport photograhp as well the driver’s license attached to the said Tittle document told the court that he does not owned a house in Lagos talkless of having a Certificate of Occupancy.
“My Lord I don’t have any house in Lagos talkless of having a C of O, this is the first time iam seeing this documents, I don’t know anything about it ”
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When asked how his driver’s licence and passport photogragh got into court’s file and attached to the documents as a surety, Winsu said the lawyer who was handling the matter before his death, Victor Abana came to him and asked him to stand as surety for his brother, adding that in the process, the lawyer collected his driver’s licence and passport photographs, adding that, that is all he gave to the late lawyer.
The document became suspects when it was discovered that the property’s C of O was signed by a military adminstrator during the Nigerian civil war.
But Justice Ayokunle Faji while remanding the suspect in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service, directed the prosecutor, Mr Abu Ibrahim from the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, to write the office of the Attorney General for indebt investigation and DPP’s Advise
The oourt also mandated the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Lagos to verify the genuineness of the Title documents and send thier findings to the Attorney General office for his Legal advise.
The trial judge thereafter adjourned the matter till November 11th for the sentencing of the two convicts
It would be recalled that Ozor iKenna and Ogbo Emmanuel Obiora were arraigned for allegedly concealing the sum of $162,883.740.drug money knowing fully well that the said money
directly or indirectly represents the proceeds of a criminal conduct, to wit dealing and trafficking in narcotic drugs and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(a) and punishable under Section 17(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act,
2011 (as amended).
COUNT II
That you Ozoh Ikenna Male, Adult, on or about the 9″ September 2015 during the outward clearance of Etihad Airline flight to Brazil at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja — Lagos concealed the sum of $34,000 (Thirty-Four Thousand United States Dollars) knowing that the said money is a proceed of a criminal conduct > and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 16(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended).
COUNT 3 : That you Ozoh tkenna Male, Adult, on or about the 9″ September 2015 during the outward clearance of Etihad Airline flight to Brazil at the Murtala Mohamme International Airport, Ikeja ~ Lagos failed to declare to the Nigerian Customs Service the
sum of $34,000 (Thirty-Four Thousand United States Dollars) in your possession and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 2(S) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended). i
COUNT IV: That you Ogbo Emmanuel Obiora, Male, Adult between the period of February 2014 October 2015 collaborated with one Chinedu (now at large) in concealing or ‘nesting the sum of &128,883,740.00 (One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Million, Eight Hundred and Eighty-Three Thousand, Seven Hundred and Forty Naira only) in your Diamond Bank personal savings Account No. 0042824083 being resources derived directly or indirectly from illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 15(1)(b) of the Money Laundering | (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended).
