After months of adjournment, the trial of Shamsudeen Bala, son of a former FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, in a case of alleged money laundering to the tune of N1.1billion continued on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja, with the cross-examination of the PW1, Ishaya Dauda.
Bala is facing a 15-count charge of money laundering alongside four firms – Bird Trust Agro Allied Ltd; Intertrans Global Logistics Ltd; DiakinTelecommunications Ltd and Bal-Vac Mining Ltd.
The former FCT Minister’s son allegedly paid various cash sums of money beyond the limit set by the Money Laundering Act for the purchase of houses without going through a financial institution.
Bala, in a bid to conceal the stolen funds resorted to acquisition of properties within high brow of Abuja.
At the commencement of the trial on November 9, 2017 Dauda, an operative of the EFCC, in his evidence in-chief narrated how Shamsudeen paid a cumulative sum of N1.1billion to buy different properties in choice areas of Abuja, using names of different companies.
After the blow-by-blow account of how the transaction went, the defence, led by Goddy Uche, SAN, requested access to ‘some documents’ regarding the said transactions to enable the defence cross-examine the witness.
Ben Ikani representing the EFCC, in response insisted that all relevant documents had been frontloaded in the proof of evidence. He urged the court to overrule the request by the defence and order the continuation of trial.
Justice Dimgba, who had earlier granted two adjournments for parties to meet and reconcile documents, today overruled the defence and ordered that the PW1 be cross-examined pending when such documents were ready to avoid unnecessary delay of the proceedings.
Under cross-examination, Dauda admitted that the name of the first defendant (Bala), though not contained in the list of directors of Intertrans Global Logistics Ltd., but was found in the surface of the document.