5th October, 2018
Akin Kuponiyi
he Senator representing Delta North, of Delta State, Peter Nwaoboshi, and two Limited liability companies, Golden Touch Construction Project and Suiming Electricals Limited alleged to have laundered N322 million proceeds of unlawful activities were on Friday re-arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.
The defendants were re-arraigned before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke who will now commence the trial of the defendants as the former Presiding Judge, Mohammed Idris was sometimes in June this year elevated to the court of Appeal.
The defendants, who were first arraigned before the court on April 25, 2018, pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them.
Their counsel, Emmanuel Kachukwu (SAN), urged Justice Aneke to allow the senator to continue with the bail earlier granted him by Justice Idris.
He also urged the judge to order the release of Nwaoboshi’s passport to enable him to travel to Indonesia on October 8 and return on October 19, 2018.
Justice Aneke granted both prayers. In his ruling, Justice Aneke ordered that Nwaoboshi’s passport should be released for him to travel for his medical treatment but that the passport should be returned to the court on his return to the country.
The Judge also ordered him to continue on his former bail.
Thereafter, Aneke adjourned till October 25, 2018 when trial shall commence.
The charges against Nwaoboshi and his co-defendants border on conspiracy and money laundering.