The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed October 16 for ruling on whether the Managing Director of SunTrust Bank, Halima Buba, can cross-examine an EFCC witness on issues raised during his evidence-in-chief.
Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the trial on Monday following an objection raised by Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), against a question posed by Johnson Usman, SAN, representing Buba.
Usman, while cross-examining Suleiman Ciroma, owner of Funnacle BDC Ltd and the first prosecution witness (PW1), had asked him to confirm the names of those who collected dollars from Mrs. Aisha Achimugu, Managing Director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd.
Ciroma had earlier confirmed that Hassan Dantani is the MD/CEO of Ashrap Energy Oil Ltd, and also the MD/CEO of Ashrap BDC Ltd. He likewise confirmed that Trimisi Mohammed Usman is a director of both Triple A and D Nig. Ltd and Triple A and D BDC Ltd.
When Usman asked whether Dantani and Trimisi collected the money (in USD) from Achimugu, Oyedepo objected, arguing that the question was irrelevant to the issues before the court.
Oyedepo said the case before the court involved Ashrap Energy and Oil Services Ltd, not Ashrap BDC Ltd, which the defence was attempting to introduce.
“The core issue for determination in this case is that those transactions, which exceeded the legal threshold, were conducted without passing through financial institutions,”
Oyedepo told the court, citing Sections 21(a), 2(1), and 19(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.
He contended that the defence’s question was designed to mislead the witness and introduce new, unrelated facts.
But Usman disagreed, insisting that the question was proper under Sections 215(2) and 223 of the Evidence Act, which allow cross-examination to extend beyond the scope of the witness’s direct testimony.
“The defendants, having pleaded not guilty, have shifted the burden of proof on the prosecution. We are only referring the witness to what he had earlier said — that Dantani and Trimisi collected the USD and credited Achimugu’s account with the naira equivalent,”
Usman argued.
He accused the prosecution of trying to “muzzle the defence” and urged the court to compel the witness to answer the question.
Justice Nwite adjourned the case to October 16 and 17 for ruling and continuation of trial.
Buba and her co-defendant, Innocent Mbagwu, Executive Director and Chief Compliance Officer of SunTrust Bank, are standing trial on a six-count charge of money laundering involving $12 million.
The EFCC alleges that the defendants aided high-value cash transactions without routing them through a financial institution — offences contrary to and punishable under Sections 21(a), 2(1), and 19(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The duo, arraigned on June 13, pleaded not guilty and were each granted N100 million bail with one surety in like sum.
