There were indications last night, that the trial of ex-Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, at a Federal High Court, may begin on Monday, 22nd October, 2018.
Ahead of the trial, Fayose will be relocated from Abuja to Lagos, on Saturday.
The Economic And Financial Commission, EFCC, confirmed last night, that Fayose has been served charges and trial notice.
However, the ex-Governor denied collecting $5.3 million from a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro.
A source said: “We have preferred charges against Fayose, at a Federal High Court, in Lagos.
“He will be prosecuted for receiving N1.299 billion and $5.3 million, from ONSA, through a former Minister, Musiliu Obanikoro.
“Although the illicit cash was released for the 2014 Governorship campaign of Fayose, it was diverted to acquiring properties.
“The Minister flew N1.299 billion in cash, in two flights to Akure Airport for Fayose, and it was Agbele who received the slush funds from Obanikoro.
“While Fayose admitted knowing Obanikoro, he told his interrogators that he did not collect $5.3 million from the ex-Minister.”
Responding to a question, the source added: “The EFCC will relocate Fayose from Abuja to Lagos, either on Saturday, for the trial.”
The Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the filing of charges against Fayose.
He said: “Fayose has been served with charges alongside his company, Spotless.”
Recall, that Fayose’s Media Aide, Lere Olayinka, had insisted in a statement that the EFCC does not have evidence to prosecute the ex-Governor.
The statement read: “With the deafening noise that they made about the evidence of corruption in their possession, and even going by the EFCC’s ignoble tweet of July 15, 2018, in which the Commission expressed its readiness to prosecute the former Governor, immediately he no longer enjoyed immunity, Nigerians had expected that by now, he will be facing trial in court.
“However, because the EFCC does not have any evidence against Fayose, the Commission has opted to keep him in detention, so as to satisfy its paymasters, whose major agenda is, ‘Fayose must be kept out of circulation by whatever means’.
“If not that they are just interested in keeping him out of circulation, why is the anti-graft Commission not in court to prosecute him with the ‘overwhelming evidence it claimed to have?”
The statement clarified that Fayose denied all the allegations levelled against him by the EFCC.
The statement added: “Peter Ayodele Fayose has denied all their allegations, and he will not say anything more than what he has said on Tuesday.
“The former Governor will not say more than what he has said, which is denying the EFCC allegations.
“He has also told the Commission that he does not have any trust in them, having openly displayed bias against him, and showed that they were persecutors instead of prosecutors.
“He is waiting to be charged to court whenever they are ready.”