The Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of Peter Nwaoboshi, the senator who represents Delta North, for charges of fraud and money laundering.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the apex court has also issued an order for his immediate release from the Ikoyi prisons in Lagos, where he has been held.
The Supreme Court ruling, delivered on Friday, also freed the two companies involved in the case, Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd. These entities were jointly tried with Senator Nwaoboshi on a two-count charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a divided judgment, with a four-to-one decision, the Supreme Court set aside the earlier ruling by the Court of Appeal in Lagos on July 1, 2022, which had overturned the discharge and acquittal of the defendants by the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Justice Emmanuel Agim delivered the lead judgment on behalf of the Supreme Court, highlighting that Senator Nwaoboshi and the two companies had been unjustly and maliciously prosecuted by the EFCC for actions that did not constitute any offenses recognized by the law. The court emphasised that they were subjected to an unnecessary criminal trial in relation to a civil transaction.
The EFCC had accused Senator Nwaoboshi and his companies of unlawfully acquiring a property known as Guinea House on Marine Road in Apapa, Lagos, for a sum of N805 million, alleging that the property belonged to the Delta State Government. The agency further alleged that funds transferred by Suiming Electrical Ltd on behalf of Senator Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd were believed to be proceeds from their illicit activities.
