The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, yesterday discharged and acquitted a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi, of a N2.6bn fraud charge.
A three-man panel of the court overruled the decision of Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos, who, on October 16, 2017, dismissed Akpobolokemi’s no-case submission.
Justice Yargatta Nimpar, who read the appellate court’s judgment, upheld Akpobolokemi’s contention that he had no case to answer in response to the charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC, on December 4, 2015, arraigned Akpobolokemi alongside five others for allegedly diverting N2.6bn belonging to NIMASA between December 2013 and May 2015.
The anti-graft agency claimed that the funds were approved by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan for the implementation of a security project tagged “International Ship and Ports Security Code in Nigerian Ports.”
Akpolokemi’s co-defendants were Ezekiel Agaba, Ekene Nwakuche, Governor Juan, Blockz and Stonz Limited and Al-Kenzo Logistics Limited.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the 22-counts, following which the EFCC opened its case, calling 12 witnesses and tendering 77 exhibits in a bid to prove the allegation.
Upon the closure of its case in 2017, the defendants filed no-case submissions, contending that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against them.
But Justice Buba, in an October 16, 2017 ruling, dismissed their submissions.
The judge held: “From the evidence of the first prosecution witness, it is well established that all the defendants have case to answer; the exhibits tendered and the testimonies of other witnesses have established that there is a prima facie case against the defendants.”
Displeased, however, they all approached the Court of Appeal, which discharged and acquitted Akpobolokemi of the entire 22 counts.
However, the five other appellants were not discharged as the justices upheld Justice Buba’s verdict that they had a case to answer.ý
Meanwhile, the N2.6bn case is just one out of five charges the EFCC filed against Akpobolokemi.
He is still standing trial on four other charges at the Federal and Ikeja High Courts in Lagos.