Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has been
discharged and acquitted of money laundering charges leveled against him
by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos today, July 1, 2015.
Justice
Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia freed FFK after
holding that ‘the prosecution case is feeble’ and has failed to prove
the allegations against the accused person beyond reasonable doubt.
Femi Fani-Kayode in a statement On his victory at the Federal High Court said that he has been vindicated.
Below is the full statement
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted, humbled and relieved by this
verdict. In the last seven years, I have been subjected to the most
malicious, vicious, sinister, well-orchestrated, insidious and
devastating form of political persecution and wickedness.
The whole process almost destroyed my life, my family, my reputation, my
health and my career. I thank God for his goodness, his mercy and for
the fact that today, the whole nightmare has finally come to an end.
Initially, I was accused of stealing N19.5bn of public funds when I was
Minister of Aviation. It was thrown out by the courts. Then I was
accused of stealing N6.5bn. It was thrown out by the courts. Then I was
accused of laundering N200m. It was thrown out by the courts.
Then I was accused of laundering N99m. It was thrown out by the courts.
Finally, I was accused of laundering N1m and N1.1m respectively, and
today, both of these charges have also been thrown out by the courts.
I give thanks to God for today’s verdict. It is the doing of the lord
and it is marvelous in our sight. Once again, he has proved that he is
faithful and true and that he always honors his word.
I wish to thank my family members, leaders of the Body of Christ,
intercessors, pastors, political associates and friends who never
doubted my innocence and who stood by me through thick and thin. I wish
to thank my lawyers who worked so hard and so diligently over the last
seven years throughout this case.
I wish to thank the Nigerian judiciary for dispensing justice in an
honest and God-fearing way and for refusing to be intimidated by anyone
or guided by anything other than the evidence presented before them in
this case.
They dispensed justice with candor and fairness, and throughout the
proceedings, they were fair to all, honest, courageous, professional and
true.
I thank them for refusing to send an innocent man to jail and for
refusing to allow themselves to be used as tools for personal and
vindictive vendettas or political persecution.
This gruesome ordeal started seven years ago and throughout that period,
it was grueling and difficult. They took seven years from me but they
couldn’t break me or end my life.
It was a very difficult period for both me and my family which came with
enormous and unimaginable challenges, yet from day one I never doubted
that I would be vindicated because God had assured me of it and I know
the God that I serve. He never lies and He never fails.
He said, through his Holy Spirit, that my innocence would speak for me
and that he would fight this battle for me and he did. He said that he
is the author and the finisher of my faith, my shield, my glory and the
lifter of my head and he was.
He has proved all that throughout my life and he has proved it once
again with the verdict in this case. To him alone be all the glory.
When the ordeal began seven years ago the Lord ministered that it would
last for seven years but that in the end, I would be declared innocent, I
would be vindicated and I would be delivered.
Again he honored his word because the whole nightmare started on 1st of
July 2008 when I was arrested in the premises of the Nigerian Senate
after the public hearing on the N19.5 billion Naira Aviation
Intervention Fund.
I was cleared of any wrong doing in the administration of that fund by
the Senate Commitee on Aviation yet despite that, immediately after the
sitting before the Comimitee, I was abducted and arrested in an
unceremonious and shameul fashion and locked up by the Farida Waziri-led
EFCC for 10 days and charged to a magistrate court in Abuja.
Today, the 1st of July 2015, seven years to the day from that day when I
was first arrested and first put into detention, I have been discharged
and acquitted of all remaining charges by the courts.
The Lord has, once again, honored his word, to him alone be the glory.
As a mark of honor and respect for the Lord and as an everlasting
testimony of my love for and dedication to him, I wish to make it known
to the Nigerian public that as from today my name will be changed.
It will no longer be David Oluwafemi Fani-Kayode but instead, it shall
be David Oluwafemi Olukayode. Olukayode means “the Lord has brought me
joy” and today he has done precisely that.
As from this day, in honor of him and as a small tribute to my love for
and total dependance on Him, that shall remain my family name. Once
again, I give thanks to God for all that has happened to me and for this
great deliverance. To him be all the glory.
I swore that I would not leave the shores of Nigeria until this matter
was finally brought to an end and the courts had pronounced my
innocence. That was seven years ago.
I kept faith with that oath and it gives me pleasure to tell you that
now that the whole ordeal is over I shall be leaving the shores of my
beloved country for the first time in seven years for a short holiday
and a long overdue medical examination.
They not only threw the whole book at me but also the entire kitchen
sink but the Lord was with me. I stood on His words in Isaiah 50 v.7-9
and I never faltered or doubted Him even in the most difficult times.
Now they know that I serve a mighty God who never forsakes His own. I
thank the media for their constant support and attention and I thank the
millions of Nigerian people that chose to believe in me and to keep
faith with me throughout this ordeal. Once again, I give thanks to the
Lord. God bless you all.
Signed:
Chief Femi Fani-Kayode (Chief Oluwafemi Olukayode)
1st July, 2015
