OYOINSIGHT.COM has received the 48-page appeal court judgement which cleared former governor Adebayo Alao-Akala and others of the N11.5 billion corruption charges levelled against them by the EFCC.
This newspaper had reported how the case lasted over a decade.
It would be recalled that the trio of of Alao-Akala, Hosea Ayoola and Femi Babalola had been arraigned by EFCC before an Oyo State High Court, over an alleged N11.5 billion fraud.
The 11 count-charge preferred against the trio included conspiracy, awarding contract without budgetary provision, obtaining by false pretence, acquiring property with money derived from illegal act and concealing the ownership of such property, among others.
The case, which started 11 years ago, was presided over by a three-man panel led by Justice Jimi Olukayode Bada. Justices Abba Muhammed and Abdulazeez Waziri were other members of the panel. The three defendants/appellants were present in court during the proceeding.
Counsel to EFCC, Dr. Benedict Ubi, had told the lower court that when Alao-Akala was the governor of Oyo State, he awarded a road contract worth N8.5 billion between 2007 and 2009 to Pentagon Engineering Services, alleging that the firm handled the contract on behalf of the 33 local governments areas of the state without budgetary provision.
Alao-Akala, according to Ubi, ordered the supply of drilling machines on behalf of the 33 local government areas worth N3.5 billion, saying the former governor purportedly conspired with Ayoola to withdraw N2.9 billion from Oyo State Local Government Joint Account.
Ubi also told the court that Alao-Akala illegally acquired a property at Old Bodija, Off Rotimi Williams Avenue, in Ibadan, when he was governor, saying the alleged offences contravened Section 22 (4) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act and Section 1 (18) of the Advanced Fee Fraud Act.
But Alao-Akala, Agboola and Babalola, filed a no-case submission after the EFCC closed its case before the high court.
However, the trial court, presided over by Justice Muniru Owolabi, struck out eight out of the 11 count-charge againsst the trio. He then ordered them to enter defence for the remaining three counts- counts 1, 2 and 5 (conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence and award of contract without budgetary provision).
Owolabi discharged the former governor on charges of acquiring property with money allegedly derived from an illegal act and concealing ownership of such property. The judge said the witnesses called by the prosecutor failed to link evidence to the acquired property, adding that EFCC also failed to prove genuine ownership of the property.
But the defendants, through their lead counsel, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), appealed the ruling of the lower court that said they had a case to answer.
Delivering judgement on the appeal on Thursday, the judges in a unanimous decision set aside the ruling of the lower court, on grounds that the trial court erred by ordering the defendants to enter defence for the three counts because the prosecution led by the EFCC failed to establish a prima facie case against them.
Justice Bada read the judgement for Alao-Akala, while Justices Abba Muhammed and Abdulazeez Waziri read the judgments for Babalola and Agboola respectively.
Click here for the Full Judgement
