Magistrate A.O. Layinka of an Ogba Magistrate Court, Lagos has struck out charges and discharged the Managing Director of Shibahwells Energy, Isaac Adewole, and a Wema Bank official, Kingsley Ananwude, accused of the offence of money laundering and bribery preferred against them by the Police.
The Magistrate Court struck out the charges for lack of merit, following the Legal Advice from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Lagos State, which stated that there is no prima facie case established against them.
The management of Wema Bank Plc has already issued a public statement describing media reports on money laundering and bribery allegations against its member of staff and a certain bank customer as malicious and misleading.
Debunking the allegations in a statement signed by its Head of Corporate Communications, Funmilayo Falola, Wema Bank, noted that its attention has been drawn to the media reports on money laundering and bribery allegations on certain customer’s transaction.
It lamented that the publication went ahead to mention the names of certain Wema Bank management staff allegedly involved in the said transaction.
The statement stated that: “The Bank wishes to state categorically that there is no merit in the article, and it is a malicious publication against members of our staff and the Bank’s customer.”
The Bank, according to the statement, also claimed that the allegations were being peddled by an aggrieved 3rd party, named Mr. Popoola.
It added that Popoola had voluntarily released his property as part of a collateral to secure a loan obtained by the bank’s Customer.
It will be recalled that the defendants were arraigned in Court on February 9, 2022, in Charge No. MIK/B/6/2022–Commissioner of Police vs. Adewole Isaac & Kingsley Ananwude, for alleged stealing and money laundering involving N1.7 billion.
After pleading not guilty, the Court granted the defendants bail and then adjourned the case till 15th March, 2022, for trial.
On Tuesday 15th March, 2022, when the case was mentioned in court, Magistrate Layinka discharged the defendants and struck out the charge for lack of Merit after relying on the Legal Advice from the Office of the DPP, Office of the Attorney General of Lagos State/Ministry of Justice.
In the Legal Advice signed by the DPP of Lagos State (a copy of which was sighted by our correspondent), the DPP after an extensive review of the duplicate case file provided by the police authority, stated that the defendants were arrested based on rumours by one Timi Popoola and nothing more.
The DPP further stated that there is insufficient evidence to predicate the offences upon which a criminal charge was brought before the court.
