Dismissal of money laundering charges against Bobrisky was lawful, says EFCC

A prosecutor from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Bilikisu Bala, has defended the lawful dismissal of money laundering charges against Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky.

On Monday, September 30, 2024, Bala addressed a Joint Committee of the House of Representatives investigating corruption allegations against the EFCC and the Nigeria Correctional Service.

Bala, who led the prosecution team for Bobrisky’s trial, explained that the charges were dropped in accordance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA). She further clarified that the decision was based on findings from the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML), which revealed that Bobrisky’s business, Bob Express, was not classified as a Designated Non-Financial Institution, Business, and Profession (DNFIBP).

As a result, the firm could not be prosecuted under the Money Laundering Prevention & Prohibition Act of 2022.

“We initially raised six count charges bordering on Naira Abuse and Money Laundering against Okuneye based on his confessional statement that his firm, Bob Express, was not registered with SCUML and was not rendering returns to it. Counts 1-4 were on Naira Abuse while counts five and six were on money laundering. Okuneye’s confession that he didn’t register his firm, Bob Express with SCUML and not rendering returns to it informed the money laundering charges initially included in the six count charges. However, when we wrote to SCUML on the status of the firm, the Unit responded that it was not a Designated Non-Financial Institution, Business and Profession, DNFIBP. We cannot lawfully sustain the charges in all sincerity. We, therefore dropped them and relied on the four counts on Naira mutilation to which Okuneye had pleaded guilty”, she said.

The prosecutor dismissed claims of financial inducement in dropping charges maintaining that no such thing happened. “There is simply no basis for that. The Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, allows amendment of charges. It is a professional practice. It is laughable for anyone to attribute our decision to monetary issues. Why did we write to SCUML if we didn’t want to include the charges? We wrote to be lawfully guided and when the Unit responded that the firm had not breached any law, on what basis should we have retained the money laundering charges?”, she said.

Bala, who appeared before the Committee with top management staff of the EFCC, charged the Committee to critically look into all the issues raised against the EFCC and make public its findings in the interest of justice. Chief of Staff to the EFCC’s Chairman, Commander of the EFCC, CE Michael Nzekwe who stood for the Chairman, Ola Olukoyede restated the seriousness the Commission attached to integrity of its staff. “We viewed the allegation of bribery against our officers seriously. Integrity is one of our core values. This is why we are here to place all the facts involved in the trial of Okuneye in the public domain”, he said.

Okuneye, an ex-convict, had alleged in a viral video that he offered N15,000,000 (Fifteen Million Naira) as a bribe to some unnamed EFCC officers to drop money laundering charges against him.