The Federal Government, on Thursday, tendered as evidence before the Federal High Court, Abuja, three bags containing different currencies in the money laundering charge against Air Commodore Umar Mohammed (rtd).

Counsel to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Magaji Labaran, tendered the bags before Justice Inyang Ekwo while leading in evidence the only witness in the case, Stephen Olatubosun.

Mohammed (1st defendant) and his company, Easy Jet Integrated Service Ltd (2nd defendant), are being charged with three counts bordering on money laundering, illegal possession of firearms and classified documents.

Mohammed and his company allegedly received the sum of one million, thirty thousand American Dollars ($1,030,000) in cash from Worldwide Consortium PTY Ltd, as payment for freight services on 19th June, 2016, contrary to the Money Laundering Act 2011 (as Amended).

Justice Ekwo had, Wednesday, ordered that the currencies be counted with a counting machine at the office of the Deputy Chief Registrar (Litigation) in the presence of all the parties to ascertain the total amount before they were tendered before the court.

At the resumed trial on Thursday, counsel to the AGF informed the court that the parties in the case had complied with the court order.

“My lord, we have done the needful at the office of the Chief Deputy Registrar (Litigation). The currencies were counted and are in three bags labelled Bag A, Bag B and Bag C,” Labaran said.

Also, lawyer to the defendants, Hassan Liman, SAN, confirmed that all the parties were duly represented during the counting of the currencies.

The prosecution witness, Olatubosun, a staff of the the Department of State Security Service (DSS), identified the three bags of money when he was being led in evidence by Labaran.

“There are three bags: two black and one brown. They are labelled as Bag A, Bag B and Bag C respectively with the currency sums attached to them,” he responded.

The witness, giving the breakdown of the sum in each bags, said Bag A contained 529, 400 dollars and Bag B had 499, 800 dollars.

Olatubosun said Bag C contained different currencies including naira notes: N1, 200, 000 in 1000 naira note; N100, 000 in 500 Naira notes; 957 US Dollars; 2, 570, 000CFA and another wrap of 5, 000CFA.

He further said the bag held 46, 500CFA; 20, 000CFA; 4, 000CFA, 50 Barbados Dollars; another 70 Barbados Dollars containing 10 bundles; 5 pieces of Caribbean Dollars; 7 pieces of Trinidad and Tobago Dollars ; 5 pieces of Trinidad and Tobago Dollars and another 60 Trinidad and Tobago Dollars in a wrap.

Justice Ekwo admitted the three bags of currencies as exhibits and ordered the chief registrar of the court to keep the bags at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) pending further order of the court.

The witness, during cross-examination by counsel to the defendants, Hassan Liman, SAN, said he was neither part of the team that visited the retired officer’s residence nor took his statement.

He said that based on the report in the case file made available by the DSS officers who carried out the operation, “the source of the currency is from the defendant.”

Olatubosun however that said that though he did not personally investigate the defendant, but to the best of his knowledge, Mohammed “is a businessman.”

Defence counsel informed the court that the defendant will be applying for a no-case submission shortly after the judge closed the prosecution case.

Justice Ekwo then granted the defence application to enter a no-case submission, giving 21 days to the defence counsel to file the no-case submission, seven days to the prosecution counsel to counter it and two days to the defendant to respond if the need arises.

The judge adjourned the matter to April 27 for adoption of final written addresses in the trial.