.A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, adjourned two separate money laundering suits filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against British national, James Nolan, and two other companies for judgment.
Justice Donatus Okorowo adjourned the suits for judgment after counsel for the EFCC, Bala Sanga, and the defence lawyer, Michael Ajara, adopted their final written addresses and made their submissions in the matters.
In his argument, Ajara prayed the court to dismiss the two suits for lack of jurisdiction.
The lawyer insisted that the court lacked jurisdiction because the charges were defective.
Besides, he said all the evidence brought forward by the anti-graft agency, through its witnesses, were hearsay.
But Sanga disagreed with Ajara.
The EFCC lawyer argued that under Section 220 of Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, the irregularity of a charge does not affect the jurisdiction of the court and neither does it affect the validity of the charge.
He added that Ajara’s objection was belated as this should have been raised during arraignment.
Sanga equally argued that the matter cannot be caught up by hearsay rules because documents obtained by the prosecution’s investigating officers were visible in evidence.
He submitted that knowledge derived from day-to-day work are not hearsay.
The lawyer prayed the court to convict the defendants and order the forfeiture of the companies’ assets to the Federal Government.
