Appeal Court sets aside High Court ruling, acquits Ex-NIMASA DG Akpobolokemi in N754.8m fraud case
By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division has set aside the ruling of Ikeja High Court and instead, discharged and acquitted a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi, of alleged N754.8 million fraud.
In a unanimous decision delivered on Friday June 13, the appellate court upheld Akpobolokemi’s appeal, set aside the ruling of the Ikeja High Court which had dismissed his no-case submission, and quashed the 12-count charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC had in a criminal suit brought against Akpobolokemi, accused him of conspiracy, stealing, and forgery in connection with alleged illegal transfers from the account of the VIMSAS Committee.
He was initially arraigned with several others, but the charges were later amended to include only him and one other defendant.
At the lower court, Justice Raliatu Adebiyi had ruled that the EFCC had established a prima facie case on some of the counts and ordered Akpobolokemi and his co-defendant to open their defence.
Dissatisfied with the ruling , Akpobolokemi, through his counsel, Collins Ogbonna and Kunle Gbolahan, appealed the ruling, arguing that the EFCC failed to link him to any wrongdoing and relied on inadmissible evidence and unreliable witness testimonies, including those of PW9, PW10, and PW11, as well as Exhibits P59–P61.
The Court of Appeal agreed with his argument, holding that the appellant was not a member of the VIMSAS Committee and not a signatory to any of the Committee’s accounts.
The Appellate court further held that the appellant neither signed nor approved any withdrawal instructions or internal memos which related to the alleged fraudulent transfers.
The court ruled that a trial court cannot rely on inadmissible evidence even if no objection is raised during trial and concluded that such evidence should have been excluded.
Citing the principle that “a court must act only on evidence admissible in law,” the appellate court struck out the charges and acquitted Akpobolokemi. This effectively brings the long-running case and travails to an end in his favour.
At the trial court, defence counsel had insisted that EFCC failed to prove its case, while the Commission, through its prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, maintained that the evidence including testimony from 12 witnesses supported the charges.
