February 6, 2024: Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos has invalidated a criminal charge filed against a former Chief of Air Staff, Adesola Amosu, and two others over an alleged N21.5 billion money laundering scheme.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had re-arraigned the defendants on an amended 13-count charge related to money laundering, accusing them of being involved in the laundering of N21.5 billion.
In a significant development on Tuesday, Justice Aneke sided with the defence counsel’s preliminary objection, which challenged the court’s jurisdiction to hear the case. The defence argued that since the defendants were serving military officers at the time of the alleged offence, they were only subject to trial by a court martial, not a civilian court.
The court’s decision to uphold the jurisdictional challenge effectively nullifies the criminal charge against the defendants, marking a significant turn in the legal proceedings.
The ruling highlights the complex legal issues surrounding cases involving military officers accused of financial crimes and underscores the importance of clarifying jurisdictional matters in such cases.
