Niger Delta corruption scandal: Senate Committee Chair, Nwaoboshi, bags seven years imprisonment
…As Appeal Court establishes scandal beyond reasonable doubt
…I will appeal to Supreme Court — Senator insists
By Moses Adeniyi
Trial of corruption cases in Nigeria took a firm look on Friday as the Court of Appeal, sitting in Lagos, having established facts nailing the chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi (APC, Delta North) and sentenced the lawmaker to seven years imprisonment.
The decision of the Court of Appeal to punish the act of corruption by incarcerating the lawmaker for seven years, was a development that overrode the earlier verdict of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos which in June 2021, discharged Nwaoboshi of the N322million money laundering charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, sentenced Nwaoboshi to seven years imprisonment and ordered that his two 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.
…Appeal Court establishes scandal beyond reasonable doubt
The court’s verdict followed the appeal of the EFCC challenging the judgment of Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of a Federal High Court, Lagos, which on June 18, 2021, discharged and acquitted the defendants of a two-count charge of fraud and money laundering.
EFCC had arraigned the three defendants over the acquisition of a property named Guinea House, Marine Road, in Apapa, Lagos, for N805 million.
The anti-graft agency had stated that 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 proceeds of fraud.
The federal high court had in its judgment, 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.
The court also discharged Nwaoboshi’s firms – Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd – on the same ground.
The defendants were arraigned in 2018 before Justice Mohammed Idris who was later elevated to the Court of Appeal. They were thereafter re-arraigned before Justice Aneke on October 5, 2018.
In the two-count charge marked FHC/L/117C/18., the EFCC alleged that the defendants committed the offence between May and June 2014, in Lagos.
Nwaoboshi was said to have acquired a property described as Guinea House, Marine Road, in Apapa Lagos, for the sum of N805million.
The prosecution said he reasonably ought to have known that N322million out of the purchase sum formed part of proceeds of an unlawful act.
The sum was said to have been transferred to the vendors by order of Suiming Electrical Ltd.
Suiming Electrical was alleged to have on May 14, 2014, aided Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch to commit money laundering.
However Justice Aneke held, among others, that the prosecution’s case collapsed because “bank officials were not called to testify.”
Following its dissatisfaction over the lower court’s acquittal verdict, the EFCC appealed to the Court of Appeal, contending that the trial judge erred in law in dismissing the charges against the respondents.
Having proven its case, the Court of Appeal in its judgment on Friday, held that the prosecution, EFCC, had proved beyond reasonable doubt, facts of the offence and complicity of the accused.
The higher court, consequently, found the defendants guilty as charged, and upturned the decision of the lower court, sentencing the lawmaker to seven years imprisonment.
…I will appeal to Supreme Court —Senator insists
Nwaoboshi, a Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) represents Delta North in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.
Following the party primaries for the 2023 election, Nwaoboshi was returned unopposed as the senatorial candidate of the party for the National Assembly.
The Court of Appeal sentence may be wrecking havoc on his bid to contest for return as the candidate of the PDP for the Delta North senatorial position.
Protesting the Court of Appeal judgment, Nwaoboshi, has vowed to immediately challenge the verdict at the Supreme Court.
A statement by his media unit, expressed the lawmaker’s confidence that the Supreme Court will subject the judgment to critical review accordingly.
The statement titled “Court of Appeal Judgment” read, “The attention of SPON Media has been drawn to the news making rounds about the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos over a matter which EFCC filed against Chief, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, the Senator representing Delta North at the Senate.
“It is not unusual to have judgments that astound the parties, depending on where the pendulum swings.
“The judgment, the news of which is in the media, arose from an appeal by EFCC against the judgment of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which discharged and acquitted Distinguished Senator & Co-Defendants at the trial level.
“Steps are being taken to challenge the Court of Appeal judgment immediately and we are confident that the Supreme Court will subject the judgment to critical review accordingly.”
