The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, on Friday sentenced Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, (APC, Delta North), to seven years imprisonment for money laundering.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had in 2018, arraigned Nwaoboshi and his two firms, Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd before Mohammed Idris, a judge who was later elevated to the court of appeal. That being the case, the defendants were re-arraigned before Chukwujekwu Aneke on October 5, 2018 on a two-count charge and marked FHC/L/117C/18. The anti-graft agency alleged that the defendants laundered N322 million between May and June 2014.
But the trial judge held in June 2021 that the EFCC failed to prove the case for which it brought the lawmaker before the court.
The judge held that the prosecution’s case failed for the fact that bank officials were not called to testify. The same thing applied to the two companies charged along with Senator Nwaoboshi.
The EFCC then proceeded on appeal.
Delivering judgment on Friday, the appellate court overturned the lower court’s judgment and convicted the senator.
Tweeting on its @officialEFCC on Friday, the anti-graft body said “The Appellate Court’s ruling followed the success of the appeal by the challenging the judgment (sic) of Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court.”
According to the EFCC, the Appeal 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.”
Apart from convicting Senator Nwaoboshi, the Appeal Court also ordered that the two companies be wound up.
