Nicholas Ashinze, a former aide to Nigeria's former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, has been cleared of charges of money laundering by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court Abuja.
The ruling came following the decision by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, to withdraw the case. At the court proceedings, counsel for the AGF, David Kaswe, told the court that he had the approval of Malami to take over the case in accordance with section 174 of the 1999 constitution.
After taking over the case, Kaswe moved a motion for the withdrawal of the criminal charge against the defendants, which defense counsel did not oppose. Consequently, Abang struck out the amended charge and discharged the defendants.
Ashinze, along with an Austrian security consultant, a retired military intelligence officer and a legal practitioner, had been re-arraigned by the EFCC on a 13-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N1.8 billion in October 2017, to which they all pleaded not guilty.
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