Appeal Court Jails Two Chinese Nationals for Money Laundering
Onuminya Innocent
Presiding Justice Abubakar Mahmud Talba of the Court of Appeal Sokoto Division, yesterday convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals – Mr. Meng Wei Kun and Mr. Xu Kuai to three years imprisonment each on issues bordering corruption, money laundering, and attempted bribery.
In a unanimous judgement, the court berated the lawyers for the accused for trying to frustrate the appeal through maneuvering, stressing that gone were the days of technicality in law.
He further added that the court must allow cases to be heard on merits not on technicality.
Earlier, the Federal High Court sitting in Sokoto has discharged and acquitted the accused persons on three count charges preferred against them which prompted the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to appeal the judgement.
Justice Talba explained that the EFCC had proven Count 1 and 2 of 3 before the Federal High Court beyond reasonable doubt but agreed with the lower court on Count 3 and accordingly struck it out because a similar charge is pending before the High Court of Justice Sokoto State.
According to Justice Talba, “the defendants are charged with conspiracy and making a cash payment in excess of the threshold provided by the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 as amended in 2012 to Abdullahi Lawal (then zonal head of EFCC Sokoto) which was established beyond reasonable doubt before the lower court but surprisingly the trial Judge summersaulted in his judgement and recanted.”
Justice Talba added, “I regret to say that the judgement is like a fiction by the trial judge who created doubts in his mind while discharging his responsibilities. Without doubt the trial judge grossly misconceived that no offence was committed.”
The Judge went further, “Conspiracy is a distinct offence even if the commission of the actual offence is aborted, and in the instant case there exists positive cogent inescapable evidence the offence was committed.”
Justice Talba therefore said the appeal is “immensely meritorious” and convicted and sentenced the Chinese nationals to three years on each of the two counts with an option of N10 million fine each on each count.
He further stated that “before I draw the curtain, the defendants are Chinese and an offence of this gravity in their home country attracts the death penalty yet here they are trying to evade justice stressing that the courts of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will not condone corruption in any way; as President Muhammadu Buhari has said if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.”
