Davidson Iriekpen
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos yesterday discharged and acquitted the immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN, of the N1.4billion fraud charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Delivering ruling on Usoro’s no-case submission, Justice Rilwan Aikawa, held that the counts against him were defective as they did not disclose offences known to both Lagos and Akwa Ibom State.
Justice Aikawa held that the anti-graft agency failed to establish any prima facie case against Usoro that would warrant him to enter a defence.
He noted that the penal code, under which the NBA chieftain was charged, was not applicable to Southern states, for example Lagos and Akwa-Ibom, which were said to be the locations of the alleged offences.
“On the whole, I hold that the prosecution has failed to establish any prima facie case.
“Accordingly, the defendant is hereby discharged and acquitted,” Justice Aikawa held.
The defendant had on February 25, 2021 filed no-case submission where his counsel, Effiong O. Effiong (SAN), submitted that the EFCC called only two witnesses and closed its case because, according to him, it knew it didn’t have any case against the defendants.
He prayed the court to allow the no-case submission.
But the prosecution opposed his prayer and prayed the court to dismiss the no-case submission, citing the “overwhelming evidence” it said it had adduced and exhibits admitted in evidence.
It also asked the court to order the defendant to enter his defence.
The agency had arraigned Usoro on December 18, 2018 before Justice Muslim Hassan on a 10-count charge. He pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
The case was later transferred, and the lawyer was subsequently re-arraigned before Justice Aikawa on a charge marked FHC/418c/18, which alleged that he committed the offence on May 14, 2016.
Also mentioned in the charge, was the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Emmanuel Udom, who was described as being “currently constitutionally immune from prosecution”.
Others are Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Finance, Nsikan Nkan; Accountant-General of Akwa Ibom State, Mfon Udomah; the Akwa Ibom Attorney-General, Uwemedimo Nwoko and Margaret Ukpe.
The aforementioned names were described in the charge as being at large.
But on July 17, 2020 the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos struck out four of the 10-count N1.4 billion money laundering charge which particularly alluded to the governor’s involvement in the alleged crime.
Thus, Udom was excluded from the proceedings.
In what was left of the charge, Usoro was alleged to have conspired to convert the sum of N1.4 billion, property of Akwa Ibom State Government, which sum they reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity.
In his testimony before the court, an EFCC investigating officer Abdulrahman Arabo said that Udom hired Usoro who, in turn, invited other SANs to join him at the Election Tribunal where his victory was being challenged in 2015.
The EFCC witness also testified the sum of N1.4 billion legal fee paid to the SANs was drawn from the treasury of the Akwa Ibom State’s account.
Usoro vigorously denied involvement in any crime.
