By Abimbola Ogunnaike
The Supreme Court has upturned the conviction of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi and his sentencing to seven years imprisonment for offences of fraud and money laundering.
The Apex Court ordered the immediate release of Nwaoboshi, who represented Delta North Senatorial District in the ninth Senate, from Ikoyi prisons in Lagos, where he is currently being held.
Delivering Judgement, the court also freed the two companies – Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd – tried with him on a two-count charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a split decision of four-to-one, the Supreme Court set aside the July 1, 2022 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, which had reversed their discharge and acquittal by a Federal High Court in Lagos.
In a lead judgment by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the Apex Court held that Nwaobishi and the two companies were unjustly and maliciously prosecuted by the EFCC for committing no offences known to the law, and subjected them to a criminal trial in relation to a civil transaction, needlessly.
The EFCC had accused Nwaoboshi and his companies of illegally acquiring a property named Guinea House on Marine Road, in Apapa, Lagos, for N805 million, the property said to belong to the Delta State Govt.
They had claimed that part of the money paid for the property was transferred by Suiming Electrical Ltd on behalf of Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd, adding the funds are believed to be proceeds of their illicit activities.
