Ahmed Dikko, the former Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), has pleaded not guilty to a 12-count money laundering indictment brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Dikko was arraigned on Wednesday alongside the second defendant, Masterpiece Projects & Investment Ltd., before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The EFCC alleges, among other counts, that the former PHRC Managing Director violated the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, by using approximately ₦218.4 million to purchase a property in Abuja’s Katampe Extension without routing the transaction through a financial institution.
Ekele Iheanacho, the EFCC’s lawyer, told the court at the start of the proceedings that the defendants were scheduled to enter a plea.
While Ahmed Dikko pleaded not guilty to all 12 counts, the defense counsel, Ikechukwu Ajunwa, entered a not guilty plea on behalf of the firm.
Following the arraignment, the prosecution requested that the court schedule a date for the commencement of the trial.
Ajunwa subsequently argued an application for Dikko’s bail, asserting that his client had strictly complied with the terms of the administrative bail previously granted by the EFCC and would neither interfere with the proceedings nor jump bail.
The prosecution opposed the bail application through a counter-affidavit and a written address submitted to the court, urging the judge to deny the request.
In his ruling, Justice Ekwo emphasized that bail is a constitutional right that can only be denied on solid, justifiable grounds.
The judge subsequently granted Dikko bail in the sum of ₦150 million, with one surety in the same amount.
Additionally, the court prohibited Dikko from leaving the country without authorisation and mandated that he deposit his international passport.
Backstory…
Recall that EFCC filed separate charges against Ahmed Dikko and Jimoh Yisawu, the former Managing Director of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC), roughly two weeks prior to the arraignment. The anti-graft agency accuses both ex-refinery chiefs of laundering and diverting public funds originally budgeted for the multi-billion-naira rehabilitation of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries.
The anti-graft agency accused Dikko of accepting and holding illicit funds from contractors hired by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. He is further alleged to have used third parties to obscure the origin of the funds and engaged in financial transactions that directly violated the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
