Nuriani Adamu, son of a former governor of Nasarawa State, Adamu Abdullahi, has been remanded in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, over charges of fraud and money laundering levelled against him by the anti-graft agency.
He was remanded by a Federal High Court sitting in Kano on Wednesday.
According to Punch Metro, Nuriani Adamu was arraigned before Justice J. K. Daggard of the Federal High Court, Kano over alleged money laundering.
He was arraigned alongside one Felix Onyago on an amended six counts bordering on money laundering and illegal diversion of public funds totalling N32m.
When the charges were read to them, the defendants pleaded not guilty.
However, counsel for the defendants, Mr. Mamman Lawan, filed a bail application in respect of the defendants under Section 36 Sub-section 6 (b) 5 and Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution.
“The defendants were early in September 2015, invited and detained by the EFCC and at no time were they found wanting when they were granted bail.
“If granted bail, the defendants would not jump bail, nor commit any offence and would not tamper with police investigation,” the lawyer reiterated.
Lawan therefore urged the court to grant them bail because “the law says they are still innocent citizens until they are proven guilty of the charges by the court.”
The prosecuting counsel, Mr. B. M. Buhari, told the court that between December 10 and December 23, 2014, the defendants conspired between themselves and committed illicit money laundering under Section 18 (a) and 15, 2,(b) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act .
He said on the same date, Adamu transferred N18m to Onyago’s First Bank Account No: 2024412016 in Bio-block Technology, Kano.
Also, Buhari alleged that Adamu on December 23, 2014, committed money laundering offence by illicitly transferring N9.7m to Onyago’s First Bank account and they later took possession of the money.
The prosecutor however promised to call six witnesses in the next sitting to testify before the court.
Thereafter, Justice Daggard ordered the defendants to be remanded in EFCC custody and adjourned the case until February 7, for ruling of bail application.