Nigeria Charges Ex-Aviation Minister Over Graft

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission charged Femi Fani-Kayode with 47 counts of money laundering.

Nigeria's anti-corruption police on Tuesday charged a former aviation minister with the laundering of 230 million naira ($1.65 million) while he was serving in office.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged Femi Fani-Kayode with 47 counts of money laundering, which it suspects occurred between January 2006 and May 2007 when he was serving as minister under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Fani-Kayode, who appeared before a federal court in Lagos, pleaded not guilty to the charges. A judge remanded him to a Lagos prison until his bail hearing on Dec. 29.

This is the second time the EFCC has brought charges against the former minister.

EFCC charged Fani-Kayode in July for conspiring with two other top government officials to embezzle 19.5 billion naira from an emergency fund set up to improve safety after a string of air disasters in 2005 and 2006, which killed hundreds of people. President Umaru Yar'Adua came to power about 19 months ago pledging zero tolerance for corruption in one of the world's most tainted countries, but faces questions from critics over his commitment to the campaign.

Several former state governors are facing corruption charges, but there has been little progress in most of the cases against them as they have dragged from one adjournment to another.