| Alamieyeseigha docked
over 40-count charge
By ADESINA AIYEKOTI
Wednesday,
December 21, 2005
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•Chief
Diepreye Solomon Peter Alameiyeseigha |
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Former Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Diepreye Solomon Peter
Alameiyeseigha was Tuesday docked at a Federal High Court,
sitting in Lagos.
A 40-count charge bordering on money laundering was slammed
on him.
Though, the charges were not read to the one-time governor,
among the allegations preferred against him in the charges
dated December 19, 2005, was that himself and a company, Solomon
& Peters Ltd between October 1999 and December 2003, converted
241 million pounds ( N60.7 billion) from Lagos to London to
buy the properties at a Flt 202 Jubilee Heights, Shoot Uphill
London NW23 UQ.
Seven other companies that are to be tried along with Alamieyeseigha,
as per the charges filed include Solomon & Peters Ltd,
Santolina Investment Corporation, Pesol Nigeria Ltd, Salomein
and Associates (Nig) Ltd, Kpedefa Nigeria Ltd, Jetty Properties
Ltd and Herbage Global Services Ltd.
Chief Alamieyeseigha and Herbage Global Services Ltd, were
also alleged to have between January 2005 and September 2005,
in the Lagos judicial division of the Federal High Court,
converted the sum of N1.5 billion to buy the property known
as Chelsea Hotel Abuja.
However, attempts by the prosecution led by Mr Rotimi Jacobs
to read the 40 charges to the former governor, spotting a
long sleeve shirt, on top of brown trousers and a pair of
slippers were halted by the lead defence counsel, Professor
A.B. Kasumu (SAN).
Professor Kasumu, leading Chief Mike Ozekhome and Mike Okoye
had objected to the reading of the charges on the ground that
his client was only served with the copies of the charge at
about 8.45p.m on Monday.
“I have to read it in order to advise the accused on
how to plead to the charges,” he submitted.
Kasumu further said that it was not proper to ask one out
of eight accused persons to answer to a plea on a joint charge.
Adjourning the matter till Wednesday, the trial judge, Justice
Muhammad Shuaib, ordered that Alamieyeseigha should be kept
in the custody of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC), adding that he should be given access to his lawyers.
Alamieyeseigha who looked sober, was brought to court in a
tinted glass green Peugeot bus marked Lagos HD 421 AAA amidst
tight security.
Sharing jokes with photo journalists struggling to take his
picture, the former Chief Executive said: “Are you people
not tired of my photograph? It would not sell your papers
again.”
The former governor of Bayelsa State was arrested in London
on September 15, and arraigned before the British court on
money laundering charges, but later jumped the bail granted
him and returned to Nigeria.
He was impeached December 9, by the State House of Assembly,
which found him guilty on all the charges preferred against
him.
Immediately, after his impeachment, he was arrested by a police
team led by the newly deployed Commissioner Mr Hafiz Ringim.
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