The Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal on Friday convicted and sentenced the Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District, Peter Nwaoboshi, to seven years imprisonment.
In the lead judgment written and delivered by Justice Abdullahi Bayero, the appellate court also ordered that the senator’s 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.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Had filed an appeal seeking to overturn senators nwaoboshi’s acquittal by the federal high court ikoyi in June last year.
In the judgment of the lower court, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke discharged and acquitted the defendants on two counts 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.
Part of the money paid to the vendor – 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.
Justice Aneke had said the evidence of the prosecutor “proved that the third defendant obtained a loan of N1.2 billion from Zenith Bank for purchase of additional equipment and as 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 high court judge had also held that a fatal blow was dealt to the case of the prosecution by its failure to call officials of Sterling Bank “to testify and probably tender exhibits F and F10.
But the Court of Appeal held on Friday that the trial judge erred in dismissing the charges against the respondents.
It added that the prosecution had proved the ingredients of the offence and consequently found the defendants guilty as charged,”
