In a significant development on Thursday, November 30, 2023, the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) concluded its case against the quartet of Mark Obisesan, Olumide Mcintouch, Bolaji Bakare, and Goodluck Bazunu.
The defendants stand accused of engaging in the alleged purchase of forged United States Dollar Travellers Cheques.
The legal proceedings, initiated on Thursday, February 16, 2023, saw the defendants re-arraigned before Justice I.O. Ijelu of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, facing amended 11-count charges related to the purported purchase of forged banknotes. One of the counts specifically accused the defendants of receiving and possessing forged United States dollar Travellers Cheque number GA908-981-564.
During the recent court session, the prosecution counsel, N.K. Ukoha, presented two additional witnesses, further substantiating the EFCC’s case. Ayotunde Solademi, a Foreign Service National Investigator with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Bamaiyi Mairiga, a forensic expert from the EFCC’s Forensic Department, provided crucial testimony against the defendants.
Solademi, appearing as the second prosecution witness (PW2), outlined the FBI’s involvement in the investigation. He detailed how, in January 2020, the EFCC sought the FBI’s assistance to verify the authenticity of eleven Travellers Cheques. The FBI, in response, confirmed that all eleven cheques were not genuine and provided guidelines for identifying authentic American Express Travellers Cheques.
Under cross-examination, Solademi clarified that the American Express Traveller’s Cheque Authentication Centre conducted the analysis, emphasizing the collaborative efforts between the EFCC and the FBI.
The third prosecution witness, Mairiga (PW3), testified about the forensic analysis conducted on the documents. He disclosed that the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Command, in 2020, had requested the forensic examination of ten American Express Travellers Cheques and one Mastercard $100 Cheque. Out of the analyzed cheques, ten were identified as counterfeits, while the MasterCard $100 Traveller’s Cheque was deemed genuine.
Mairiga identified the letter of request from the EFCC as Exhibit P1 and presented the response from the Forensic Laboratory dated February 7, 2020.
The prosecution announced the closure of its case, with Ukoha stating, “This is the case of the prosecution.” Justice Ijelu then adjourned the case until January 18, 2024, marking a crucial juncture in the legal proceedings against the defendants in the alleged forged American Express Travellers Cheque scandal.
