Judiciary
THE Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal today July 1, 2022, convicted and sentenced Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, senator representing Delta North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, to seven years imprisonment.
The court also ordered that two of his companies, Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd, be wound up in line with the provisions of Section 22 of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2021.
EFCC had arraigned the three defendants over the acquisition of a property named Guinea House, Marine Road, in Apapa, Lagos, for N805 million.
Part of the money paid to the vendor, precisely a sum of N322 million transferred by Suiming Electrical Ltd on behalf of Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd, was alleged to be part of the proceeds of fraud.
But in his judgment, Justice Aneke held that the prosecution failed to call vital witnesses and tender concrete evidence to prove the elements of the offences for which it charged the defendants.
Justice Aneke said the evidence of PW2 “proved that the third defendant obtained a loan of N1.2 billion from Zenith Bank for purchase of additional equipment and as the provision of working capital.
“It also proved that the loan of N1.2 billion together with interest of N24 million was properly granted to the third. Nothing else was proved by the complainant or prosecutor in this case,” the judge said.
He claimed a fatal blow was dealt the case of the prosecution by its failure to call officials of Sterling Bank “to testify and probably tender exhibits F and F10”.
Consequently, he discharged and acquitted the defendants.
However, ruling on the EFCC’s appeal today, the Court of Appeal held that the trial judge erred in dismissing the charges against the respondents. It said the prosecution had proved the ingredients of the offence and consequently found the defendants guilty as charged.
The senator who had been a member of the senate since 2015 is the senator representing Delta North senatorial district in the Nigerian Senate. He is a senator of the 8th and 9th National Assembly.
Although he was sacked shortly after being announced senator elect during the 2019 general elections by a Federal High Court in Abuja as Senator-elect on allegations that he was not validly elected by his political party, the Appeal Court in Abuja however overturned the decision on 30 May 2019.
The lead judge held that the Federal High Court that nullified his election had no jurisdiction over the caseThe Appellate Court’s ruling followed the success of the appeal by challenging the judgment of Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court which on June 18, 2021 2018 discharged and acquitted the defendants of a two count charge of fraud and money laundering.
With reports from Guardian.
Tags: EFCC Peter Nwaoboshi
