Supreme Court judge arraigned over money laundering

intern

November 21, 2016 1:49 PM

The accused judge appeared before Justice John Tsoho on a 16-count charge and pleaded not guilty.

Justice Ngwuta

Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court on Monday appeared a Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged money laundering and judicial misconduct.

Ngwuta appeared before Justice John Tsoho on a 16-count charge.

The judge, however, pleaded not guilty.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ngwuta, his colleague, Justice Inyang Okoro, and five other judges had been suspended on allegations of fraud.

The Department of State Services (DSS) raided their homes on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8 and allegedly discovered large sums of money.

In the charge sheet, the prosecution stated that Ngwuta illegally retained N35,358, 000.00, contrary to the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.

The prosecution also accused the judge of illegally retaining in his possession 319,596.00 dollars and 25, 915 pounds.

According to the prosecution, the monies were part of the proceeds of unlawful act, contrary to the Money Laundering Act.

The prosecution also stated that, during the raid, the DSS found four diplomatic passports, one official and two standard Nigerian passports, all in the name of the defendant.

It said that the judge obtained multiple passports contrary to the provisions of Section 10 of the Immigration Act, 2015, and punishable under the same section.

It added that the judge made false statements to the Nigeria Immigration Service concerning his date of birth for the purpose of procuring an additional diplomatic passport.

The Federal Government also stated that the judge had in his possession, two valid diplomatic passports in contravention of the provisions of Section 10 of the Immigration Act.

The defendant’s application for bail is yet to be decided on.

intern