The Nation reports that details of the trial of Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (rtd), a former chief of air staff, by the Federal High Court in Lagos heard on Wednesday have become known. The ex-marshall returned N2.6 billion to the federal government and has cooperated with the prosecution since his arrest in January. You will recall that Mr Amosu was arraigned alongside Gbadebo Olugbenga, an air commodore on on a 7-count charge of money laundering filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The duo was charged with laundering N21 billion from the NAF on March 5, 2014 and concealing “proceeds of crime”. However, both pleaded not guilty to all the charges and were granted bail in the sum of N500 million each. Arguing the bail application Mr Amosu’s lawyer, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), said:
“He has remitted colossal sums of money to the federal government, although not in admittance of guilt, but out of cooperation with security agencies. My application is that bail be granted to the first defendant on self-recognisance. Let those terms be liberal. He has been reporting to the EFCC, sometimes twice a week. The first defendant will make himself available for trial.”
Earlier the EFCC reported on seizing at least 29 properties from ex-air force chiefs in the on-going anti-corruption war. Some of the properties seized from Amosu included a house on Adeyemo Alakija Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, worth N250m; a duplex at House 11, Peace Court Estate, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, worth N110m; a N40m property located at NAF Harmony Estate, Asokoro Base and a five-bedroomed house at Valley NAF Estate, Port Harcourt, worth N33m. Others include a hospital on Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, known as St. Solomon Hospital with equipment worth $2.15m and a N95m house on Umaru Dikko Street, Jabi, Abuja.