The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday said it is preparing to appeal the discharge and acquittal of former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, in its N6.9 billion money laundering case instituted since October 22, 2018.
The EFCC disclosed this in a statement hours after the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, discharged Fayose from the case following his no-case submission.
Fayose and Spotless Investment Limited were first arraigned by the EFCC on October 22, 2018, before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun.
EFCC Case and Legal Dispute
The EFCC had, on Tuesday, July 2, 2019, re-arraigned the defendants on an 11-count charge bordering on money laundering and stealing to the tune of N6.9 billion (Six Billion Nine Hundred Million Naira).
The duo pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At the last adjourned date on May 19, 2025, counsel to Fayose, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, urged the court to uphold his no-case submission dated May 16, 2025.
He submitted that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against his client.
He also informed the court that one Abiodun Agbele, who was associated with the alleged transaction, was not charged alongside Fayose.
“The predicate offences on which these charges are based do not hold water.
“Criminal breach of trust and conspiracy are distinct charges, and no co-conspirator was docked with the defendant,” he was said to have argued.
Counsel to the second defendant, Spotless Investment Limited, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, also adopted the no-case submission.
Responding, the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, urged the court to dismiss the no-case submissions.
Jacobs also cited a counter-affidavit and written address dated May 8, 2025, and further submitted that the defendants failed to explain the suspicious financial transactions.
Jacobs queried why Fayose did not use his personal bank account for the transactions “if they were clean.”
Jacobs further alleged that Fayose used associates to purchase properties both in Nigeria and abroad.
“These are associates who later denied ownership of the properties, even though Fayose had claimed them in his statement,” he added.
Court Ruling
- In his ruling, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke discharged Fayose following the no-case submission filed by his legal team.
- The court held that the EFCC failed to link Fayose to the crime, nor was a prima facie case made against him to warrant further defence.
- Reacting to the development, the EFCC stated that it is already studying the ruling and preparing to file an appeal.
- The EFCC reaffirmed its commitment to the rule of law, adding that it has briefed its counsel to appeal the judgment.
