A Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday fined former aviation minister Femi Fani-Kayode N200,000 for not being in court for his re-arraignment.
The court gave the ruling after noting its unacceptance of Mr Fani-Kayode’s excuse of bed rest.
Before the ruling, Justice Daniel Osaigor gave the ex-minister’s lawyer F. Ajudua a choice between revoking Fani-Kayode’s bail or paying a fine.
The judge said he observed five different letters seeking adjournment on the same medical grounds.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had charged Fani-Kayode alongside a former minister of state for finance, Nenandi Usman, one Danjuma Yusuf, a former chairman of ALGON, and a limited liability company, Jointrust Dimensions Nigeria Limited on 17 counts of money laundering to the tune of N4.6 billion.
They were arraigned before Justice Mohammed Aikawa until he was transferred out of the Lagos jurisdiction.
They all, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail.
The case was subsequently assigned to a new judge, Justice Osaigor, and the defendants were scheduled for re-arraignment on Wednesday, October 13.
