The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission told a Federal High
Court in Abuja on Thursday that its operatives found cash sum of $1m in
the bedroom of an Abuja mansion of the former Chief of Defence Staff,
Air Marshal Alex Badeh (retd).
The anti-graft agency alleged that the ex-CDS purchased the house
in which the money was found with dollar equivalent of N1.1bn said to
have been fraudulently removed from the accounts of the Nigerian Air
Force in 2013.
It said although, Badeh had denied ownership of the property, his
belongings, including photographs were found in it during a search by
the operatives of the commission.
This was part of the submission of EFCC’s lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs
(SAN), while opposing the bail application filed by Badeh, who is
currently on remand in Kuje prison with respect to his ongoing trial for
alleged diversion of about N3.97bn belonging to the Nigerian Air Force.
Justice Okon Abang had on March 7 ordered that Badeh be remanded in
prison shortly after the EFCC arraigned the former military chief and a
company, Iyalikam Nigeria Limited, on 10 counts of money laundering.
The judge had fixed Thursday for hearing of the bail application.
Prison authorities did not produce the the former Chief of Defence
Staff in court on Thursday, but the judge later ruled that his presence
could be dispensed with under section 266 of the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act, since the proceedings were for the hearing of an
interlocutory application.
Jacobs while opposing the bail application on Thursday urged the
trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, not grant bail to Badeh, who was said
to have perpetrated the alleged fraud while he was the Chief of Air
Staff.
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