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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Former Imo state governor and presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Senator Rochas Okorocha, has entered a plea of not guilty to the 17-count money laundering charge preferred against him and six others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The ex-governor, who is currently the Senator representing Imo West, had initially declared his intention to contest for presidency in the 2023 general elections.
He was however arrested by operatives of the agency, few hours before his political party, the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, screened its presidential candidates.
His arrest was predicated on his alleged refusal by the former governor to make himself available for trial, as the prosecution agency accused him of deliberately evading service of the charge on him.
Senator Okorocha who took his plea before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court, was arraigned alongside a chieftain of the All Progressive, APC, Anyim Nyerere Chinenye, and five companies- Naphtali International Limited, Perfect Finish Multi Projects Limited, Consolid Projects Consulting Limited, Pramif International Limited, and Legend World Concepts Limited.
The anti-graft agency had in the charge, alleged that the defendants sequentially siphoned funds from the Imo State Government House account and Imo State Joint Local Government Project account, and diverted same into accounts of private firms.
According to the EFCC, the defendants committed the alleged offence between October 2014 and February 2016.
Okorocha, who was Imo state governor from 2011 to 2019, was accused of diverting funds belonging to Imo state, to the tune of about N2.9billion.
The charge against him bordered on conspiracy and stealing.
However, when the charge was read to Okorocha, he said: “I understand the charge against me, but I am not guilty my lord”.
In likemanner, all the other defendants also pleaded their innocence to the charge dated January 24.
Immediately after their plea was taken, counsel to Okorocha, Mr. Okey Amaechi, SAN, prayed the court to release him on bail pending the determination of the case against him.
In addition, Amaechi drew attention of the court to the fact that his client was roughly arrested before APC’s screening.
“My lord, without a warrant of arrest from this court, they went into the house of the defendant, broke into it and arrested him in a gestapo manner”, he added.
However, EFCC, through its lawyer, Mr. Gbolahan latona, told the court that Okorocha raised some issues in his bail application that would require its response.
While adjourning the matter till Tuesday to hear bail applications of the defendants, Justice Ekwo ordered that they should remain in EFCC custody, pending the determination of their bail request.
The court equally fixed November 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 for trial.
