House of Representatives member Nicholas Mutu’s appeal against a Federal High Court of Abuja ruling from January 22 ordering him to enter his defense in the money laundering case brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was denied by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
In a ruling on Thursday, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, presided over by Justice Hamma Barka, granted the appellant’s application to withdraw the appeal, marked: CA/ABJ/CR/112/2024.
As the EFCC, represented by Ekele Iheanacho (SAN), raised an objection, questioning the appeal’s competence, Mutu, representing the Bomadi/Patani Federal Constituency of Delta State, filed an application to drop the appeal. The EFCC had argued, in its preliminary objection, that the appeal, an interlocutory one, was filed by the appellant without first obtaining the leave of the trial court.
Justice Folashade Giwa-Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court had, in the January 22 ruling, rejected the no-case submission made by Mutu.
Justice Giwa-Ogunbanjo held that the prosecution adduced sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case against Mutu and two of his co-defendants to warrant their being called upon to enter a defence.
The judge proceeded to order Mutu and his co-defendants to enter their defence as they have a case to answer in respect of the allegations made against them in the 13-count amended charge on which they are being tried.
Along with two other people, Airworld Technologies Ltd. and Oyien Homes Ltd., Mutu is the member of the House of Representatives with the longest tenure, having been elected in 1999. Together, they are accused of laundering over N320 million.
While Mutu was the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), he was accused to have committed the offenses between August 2014 and August 2016.
In the charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/123/2019 the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleged that Mutu, while being the Chairman of the House Committee on NDDC, between August 2014 and August 2016 “did procure Airworld Technologies Ltd to conceal of the sum of N320,159, 689.63 to be paid by Starline Consultancy Services Ltd when you reasonably ought to have known that the said sum of N320, 159, 689.63 formed part of proceeds of corruption, gratification and fraudulent acquisition of property.”
