Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, SAN, has denied accusations made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) regarding his handling of the trial of Marco Ramirez, an American businessman convicted last week for a $1.2 million EB-5 visa scam.
Ramirez was sentenced to 68 years in prison by a Lagos High Court, alongside his companies, USA NOW LLC, Eagle Ford Group LP, and USA Now Energy Capital Group LP, for defrauding Nigerians through the EB-5 US Investor Programme. He was first arraigned on June 22, 2017, before Justice Josephine Oyefeso, and later re-arraigned in 2019 before Justice Mojisola Dada on an amended 12-count charge.
The EFCC claimed in a statement following Ramirez’s conviction that the trial experienced multiple adjournments due to delays caused by Pedro and the defense’s failure to submit final written addresses on time, despite the prosecution’s timely submissions.
In response, Pedro refuted these allegations, stating that the court records reflect his diligent handling of the case. He criticized the EFCC’s statement as misleading and a “one-sided story” intended to disparage him. Pedro noted that after his appointment as Attorney General in September 2023, he ceased representing Ramirez, with David Odde of Seagate Partners taking over the defense.
Pedro expressed disappointment at the EFCC’s attempt to tarnish his reputation with what he described as a deceptive report.
