BY Chinedu Asadu
Saliu Atawodi, a retired air vice marshal (AVM), has denied a report that he is on trial for money laundering.
In a statement on Friday by Duro Meseko, his spokesman, Atawodi condemned the report which listed him among the 12 military officers undergoing trial.
The statement described the report as “false, vexatious, malicious and libellous in its entirely”.
It further noted that the former chairman of presidential implementation committee on maritime safety and security (PICOMSS) retired from the military “without a single query from the armed forces”.
“Had the newspaper done its homework well, it would have realised that the appeal court had on June 7, 2017, discharged and acquitted Atawodi of any wrongdoing in the alleged 600 million naira fraud case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against him,” the statement read.
“The judgment of the court was lavishly used as news item by several national dailies, radio and television stations.
“The question is: what does the newspaper stand to gain with this false and malicious publication? Else, how can the photograph and name of a citizen that has been discharged and acquitted by a competent court of law be prominently displaced on the front page of a national daily still being accused of standing trial for fraud!”
The EFCC had arraigned Atawodi and one Rabiu Hassan of earlier this year for allegedly diverting the sum of N620 Million through suspicious contracts to arms and ammunition.
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