Supreme Court has overturned Senator Nwaoboshi’s conviction and ordered his immediate release, one year after his 7-year sentence was announced.
The conviction of Delta North senator Peter Nwaoboshi on counts of fraud and money laundering has been reversed by the Supreme Court.
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According to SurgeZirc NG, the Supreme Court has also ordered his immediate release from the Ikoyi prisons in Lagos, where he has been imprisoned.
Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd were also released as a result of the Supreme Court verdict, which was issued on Friday.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged these entities, along with Senator Nwaoboshi, with two counts of fraud.
The Supreme Court overturned the earlier ruling by a four-to-one vote in a divided decision. The Court, in a divided verdict, threw aside the earlier finding of the Court of Appeal in Lagos on July 1, 2022, which had overturned the defendants’ discharge and acquittal by the Federal High Court in Lagos.
On behalf of the Supreme Court, Justice Emmanuel Agim gave the lead judgement, emphasising that Senator Nwaoboshi and the two firms had been unjustly and maliciously prosecuted by the EFCC for activities that did not constitute any offences recognised by the law.
The court stressed that they had been subjected to an unwarranted criminal prosecution for a civil transaction.
The EFCC had accused Senator Nwaoboshi and his firms of illegally acquiring Guinea House on Marine Road.
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The EFCC accused Senator Nwaoboshi and his firms of illegally obtaining Guinea House on Marine Road in Apapa, Lagos, for N805 million, claiming the property belonged to the Delta State Government.
The agency further said that payments transferred on behalf of Senator Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd via Suiming Electrical Ltd were considered to be proceeds of their illegal actions.
