JUST IN:
EFCC Did Not Arrest Me for Forgery, only a Media Spin by Fake Journalists -FEMI Fani-Kayode, former Nigeria’s Aviation Minister
…Argue: ‘I was invited to their office. I flew down to Lagos to see them. The anti-graft agency officers were polite and professional to me’. I was granted bail on self-recognition’
*‘We detained and grilled Femi Fani Kayode for over 6 hours on Tuesday evening. For a period of five times, he has written sick letter severally to court from the same hospital claiming doctors had placed him on bed rest to evade trial. He was granted bail on self-recognition, to appear in court again November 30”-Counsel for the EFCC, Bilikisu Buhari
*BY TOLA EWA/Anti-graft reporter, Lagos
FORMER AVIATION MINISTER, FEMI Fani Kayode, FFK, has debunked media reports that he was arrested earlier by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, claiming he was merely invited to the Anti-graft agency office in Lagos, and he flew down from Abuja, walked into their office in the company of his attorneys. He lambasts ‘fake journalists’ as persons behind the report of his ‘arrest.’ This was after he was grilled for over six hours by EFCC and granted bail for self-recognition.
“I was never arrested by the EFCC. I was invited & I flew down to Lagos to see them. I arrived in their office at 2.00pm & left at 8.30pm. I was granted bail on self-recognition. They were very polite & professional. Thanks be to God,” explained FFK.
Faulting FFK claim, EFCC the erstwhile Aviation minister was released by them after been grilled for hours. He was said to have been questioned over alleged forgery and manipulation of documents.
The former minister, who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was invited to answer questions relating to the forgery of a medical report which he allegedly procured to evade his trial before a Federal High Court in Lagos, it was learnt.
However, it was gathered that the former minister arrived at the Lagos office of the commission in company with his lawyer around 2 pm and left at 8.30 pm.
The minister in a mail on Tuesday evening confirmed being grilled by EFCC but denied being arrested.
He said, “Just arrived at the George Hotel for dinner. I was never arrested by the EFCC. I was invited & I flew down to Lagos to see them. I arrived in their office at 2.00pm & left at 8.30pm. I was granted bail on self-recognition. They were very polite & professional. Thanks be to God.”
Fani-Kayode is also standing trial over an alleged N4.6 billion fraud before Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos. The EFCC had charged him alongside a former Minister of Finance, Nenadi Usman, and two others on 17 counts of conspiracy, money laundering, and fraud.
At the last sitting of the court on October 13, the judge had imposed a cost of N200,000 on him due to his failure to appear before the court for his re-arraignment following the transfer of the former trial judge, Justice Rilwan Aikawa.
He was ordered to pay the fine or stand the risk of having his bail revoked after he failed to appear before the court for his re-arraignment. Instead of showing up in court for his re-arraignment, the former minister had sent a letter to the court, claiming that his doctors had placed him on bed rest.
Counsel for the EFCC, Mrs. Bilikisu Buhari had informed the court that the letters by the second defendant had become numerous and had also become an excuse for him to evade trial.
“This is the third time he will be writing this type of letter from the same hospital. Whenever he doesn’t want to attend court, this is the type of letter we get,” she said.
But Fani-Kayode’s counsel, Bobo Fred-Ajudua, interrupted and informed the judge that although his client’s illness was a recurring one, he had attended court regularly, and this could be shown from the court’s records.
He, thereafter, asked the court to grant an adjournment in favour of his client. At that point, the trial judge decided to go through the court’s file and after searching, he discovered that the second defendant had sought a similar medical excuse five times.
The court then asked the defence counsel to take one of two options which were to either revoke the bail of the second defendant or to impose a fine of N200,000 to be paid before the next trial date.
“From my records, the second defendant had written the court five times excusing his trial on medical grounds. February 1, 2018; May 30, 2019; November 24, 2020; March 21, 2021, and today’s letter dated October 9, 2021.
“The second defendant is to pay a cost of N200,000 before the next adjourned date, as the recurring medical excuses have been a pattern that slows down this trial,” the judge held.
The defence counsel chose the latter option. Justice Osaigor then adjourned the case until November 30 for re-arraignment of all the defendants.
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