By Nsikak Nseyen Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, has been se...
By Nsikak Nseyen
Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District at the
National Assembly, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, has been sentenced to 7 years imprisonment.
Nwaoboshi was sentenced to jail on Friday by the Lagos
Division of the Court of Appeal .
The Court also 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.
The Appellate Court’s ruling followed the success of the
appeal by the challenging the judgment of Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the
Federal High Court which on June 18, 2021 discharged and acquitted the
defendants of a two count charge of fraud and money laundering.
Recall that 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 proceeds of
fraud.
Ruling, 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 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 on Friday , the Court
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.
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