Surety in Drug Money Trial Slumps Over ‘Fake Documents’

There was mild drama at the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos yesterday when a surety slumped after the judge ordered that he be remanded in prison custody pending investigation of the documents he was suspected of using to perfect his brother’s bail conditions.

Ekene Calistus Winsu is surety for his brother Ogbo Emmanuel Obiora in an alleged drug money-related trial before Justice Ayokunle Faji.

Obiora and one Ozor Ikenna were prosecuted before the judge by the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on a four-count charge.

They were convicted and are awaiting sentencing for allegedly concealing $162,883.740 “knowing full well that the said money directly or indirectly represents the proceeds of a criminal conduct, to wit: dealing and trafficking in narcotic drugs.”

According to the charge, Ikenna on or about September 9, 2015, during the outward clearance of Etihad Airline flight to Brazil at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos concealed $34,000 “knowing that the said money is a proceed of a criminal conduct…”

He was also said to have failed to declare the money to the Nigerian Customs Service.

The fourth count reads: ‘That you Ogbo Emmanuel Obiora between February 2014 and October 2015 collaborated with one Chinedu (now at large) in concealing the sum of N128,883,740 in your Diamond Bank personal savings Account No. 0042824083 being resources derived directly or indirectly from illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 15(1)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended).”

Both men, following their trial and conviction, are scheduled for sentencing on November 11.

During trial, the court discovered that there were some inconsistencies in the documents Winsu tendered to satisfy Obiora’s bail conditions and his subsequent release from Nigerian Correctional Service custody.

For instance, he tendered a C of O for a Lagos property said to have been signed by a military administrator during the Nigerian civil war.

So, Justice Faji summoned him for clarification.

But during questioning by the judge, Winsu could not provide satisfactory answers about the authenticity of the title documents of the property.

He admitted ownership of the passport photograph and driver’s license attached to the document but said he neither owns a house in Lagos nor a Certificate of Occupancy.

“My lord, I don’t have any house in Lagos let alone have a C of O; this is the first time I am seeing these documents. I don’t know anything about it,” Winsu said.

When asked how his driver’s licence and passport photograph got into the court’s file and became attached to the documents as a surety, Winsu blamed it on his brother’s lawyer, Victor Abana, who is now deceased.

He said Abana approached him and asked him to stand as surety for his brother, adding that in the process, the lawyer collected his driver’s licence and passport photographs, adding that, that was all he gave to the lawyer.

Dissatisfied, Justice Faji ordered his remand in Nigerian Correctional Service custody pending investigation, following which Winsu collapsed.

Court officials helped revived him and he was led away.

The judge directed the NDLEA prosecutor, Mr Abu Ibrahim, to write the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation for an in-depth investigation of the matter and Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) advice.

The court also directed the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Lagos to verify the genuineness of the Title documents and send the findings to the AGF’s office for his legal advice.

He adjourned proceedings till November 11.