A Supreme Court Justice who made illegal millions through money laundering has been charged to court by the Federal Government.
Justice Sylvester Ngwuta
The Federal Government, on Tuesday, charged a Justice of the
Supreme Court, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, to court at the Federal High
Court in Abuja. He was charged to court on six counts, including money
laundering.
The office of the Attorney General of the Federation, which filed the charges on Tuesday, described the sums of money “as proceeds of unlawful activity”.
He was accused of retaining in his residence N35,358,000; $319,596
and £25,915 during the raid on his house by the operatives of the
Department of State Services between October 7 and 8.
The offences captured in counts one to three are said to be
contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act
2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.
According to Punch, apart from the money laundering charges,
Justice Ngwuta is also accused of being in possession of two valid
Diplomatic Passports, an offence said to be contrary to Section 10 (1)
(a) of the Immigration Act 2015.
The Justice of the apex court is equally accused of “knowingly”
making a false statement to the Passport Office concerning his date of
birth for the purpose of procuring an additional Diplomatic Passport for
himself in violation of Section 10 (1)(c) of the Immigration Act.
He is accused of submitting multiple application forms to one or
more passport offices with the intention of obtaining multiple
Diplomatic Passports for himself in violation of Section 10 (1) (d) of
the Immigration Act 2015 and punishable under Section 10 (1) of the same
Act.
The office of the Attorney General of the Federation filed the
charges, numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/232/2016, before the Federal High Court on
Tuesday.
The Department of State Security Services, DSS had on October 7 and
8 raided the houses of some of the judges including Justice Ngwuta. DSS
alleged that it discovered large sums of money in foreign and local
currencies in the raided houses.
The charges against Ngwuta read, “Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta,
adult, ‘M’, 65 years, of No. 2 Yellow Houses, Supreme Court Quarters,
Off Shehu Shagari Way, Central District, Abuja, on or about the 8th day
of October, 2016, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court,
retained in your possession the sum of thirty-five million, three
hundred and forty-eight thousand naira (NGN35,358,000.00), which sum
forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act and you thereby committed
an offence contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering
(Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended).
“Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta, adult, ‘M’, 65 years of No. 2 Yellow
Houses, Supreme Court Quarters, Off Shehu Shagari Way, Central District,
Abuja, on or about the 8th day of October, 2016, within the
jurisdiction of this honourable court, retained in your possession the
sum of three hundred and nineteen thousand five hundred and ninety-six
United States of America dollars ($319,596), which sum forms part of the
proceeds of an unlawful act and you thereby committed an offence
contrary to Section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act
2011 (as amended).
“Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta, adult, ‘M’, 65 years, of No. 2 Yellow
Houses, Supreme Court Quarters, off Shehu Shagari Way, Central District,
Abuja, on or about the 8th day of October, 2016, within the
jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, retained in your possession the
sum of twenty-five thousand nine hundred and fifteen pounds sterling
(GBP 25,915), which sum forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act
and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15 (2)(d) of
the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended).
“Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta, adult, ‘M’, 65 years, of No. 2 Yellow
Houses, Supreme Court Quarters, off Shehu Shagari Way, Central District,
Abuja, FCT, on 8th October, 2016, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of
this honourable court, had in your possession two valid Diplomatic
Passports and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 10
(1) (a) of the Immigration Act 2015.
“Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta, adult, ‘M’, 65 years, of No. 2 Yellow
Houses Supreme Court Quarters, Off Shehu Shagari Way, Central District,
Abuja, FCT, on 17 September, 2014, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of
this honourable court, you knowingly made a false statement to the
Passport Office concerning your date of birth for the purpose of
procuring an additional Diplomatic Passport for yourself and you thereby
committed an offence contrary to Section 10(1)(c) of the Immigration
Act.
“Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta, adult,male, 65 years, of No. 2 Yellow
Houses, Supreme Court Quarters, Off Shehu Way, Central District, Abuja,
FCT, on September 17, 2014, within the jurisdiction of this honourable
court, you submitted multiple application forms to one or more passport
offices with the intention of obtaining multiple Diplomatic Passports
for yourself and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 10 (1)
(d) of the Immigration Act 2015 and Punishable under Section 10 (1) of
the same Act.”
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