“The assertion that I have offered to return N26m to EFCC in order to avoid prosecution is false” – Fani-Kayode

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has said that under no circumstance will he pay any money back to the Federal Government because he never collected money from any Federal Government agency in the first place.

He made this known in a statement by his spokesperson, Jude Ndukwe, while reacting to reports that he has agreed to return N26m he allegedly received from the Office of the National Security Adviser when Sambo Dasuki was at the helm of affairs.

He’s standing trial for the alleged fraud.

Fani-Kayode insisted that the case against him was adjourned because a new lawyer took over and needed time to study it.

In yesterday’s report, his new lawyer, Ahmed Raji was quoted as saying:

“My Lord, I am just coming into the case and so I crave your indulgence to enable me familiarize myself with the case. Secondly, looking at the facts of the case and the money involved, I believe that there are other options we can explore. The case involves the sum of N26 million and the law allows you to explore the option of plea bargain and so many other options rather than go through trial.”

“Reports that are coming out that Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has agreed to return N26m to the EFCC in an attempt to settle his case at the Abuja Federal High Court out of court with them are false.

The matter was adjourned in the Abuja Federal High Court primarily because a new lawyer in the person of Ahmed Raji (SAN) is now handling the case and he needed time to be properly briefed on the matter and to go through the file.

Under no circumstances will Chief Fani-Kayode pay any money back to the EFCC or any other government agency because he never collected any money from any government agency in the first place. The reports are false, embarrassing and mischievous,” Fani-Kayode said.

Fani-Kayode also debunked the claims on Facebook:

“The assertion that I have offered to return 26 million naira to EFCC in order to avoid prosecution is false. It is puerile rubbish. The suggestion that I am interested in a plea bargain is also false,” he said.