Senator Peter Nwaoboshi’s conviction and sentence to seven years in jail for money laundering and fraud offences were overturned by the Supreme Court in a 4-1 split ruling.
The supreme court ruled in a lead judgement by Justice Emmanuel Agim that Nwaobishi and the two companies were unjustly and maliciously prosecuted by the EFCC for failing to commit any crimes that were known to the law, and that they were subjected to needless criminal trials in connection with civil transactions.
The court overturned the Court of Appeal’s July 1, 2022 ruling in Lagos, which had overturned the Federal High Court’s discharge and acquittal of them.
Since he is now being jailed in Ikoyi prisons in Lagos, the supreme court ordered his immediate release.
The two businesses that were charged with two counts by the EFCC and tried alongside him—Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd—were likewise exonerated by the highest court.
The Delta State Government was alleged to have owned Guinea House on Marine Road in Apapa, Lagos, which the EFCC claimed Nwaoboshi and his firms fraudulently purchased for N805 million.
According to the anti-graft agency, Suiming Electrical Ltd transferred a portion of the money used to purchase the property on behalf of Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd, and the money is thought to represent the results of their illegal actions.
