The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, presided by Justice Ayokunle Faji, has discharged and acquitted former director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi of fraud allegations involving the sum of N8.5bn.
Akpobolokemi was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alongside Major-General Emmanuel Atewe (Rtd), a former Commander of the Joint Task Force Operation Pulo Shield, and two other staff of the agency, Kime Engonzu and Josphine Otuaga over fraud.
The defendants are being prosecuted for an amended 22-count charge bordering on conspiracy; conversion and stealing by fraudulent conversion and had pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
One of the counts reads: “That you, Patrick Ziadeke Akpobolokemi, Major General Emmanuel Atewe, Kime Engozu, and Josphine Otuaga sometime in 2014, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Court, with intent to defraud, conspired amongst yourselves to commit an offence to wit: Conversion of the sum of N8,537,586,798.58 property of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.”
Upon conclusion of the prosecution’s case, all the defendants opted for no-case submission.
However, during the sitting on Monday, the judge discharged and acquitted Akpobolokemi while delivering a ruling on a no-case submission filed by him and four defendants, in a 22-count charge against them.
Akpobolokemi had in a no-case submission filed by his lawyers, Dr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN) leading with Collins Ogbonna, prayed the court for an acquittal without having him present a defence.
He explained that the prosecution, with all its witnesses and evidence tendered while making its case, failed to link him to the alleged crimes.
Meanwhile delivering his ruling on Monday, Justice Faji held that none of the witnesses called by the Prosecution brought any evidence linking Akpobolokemi, and the fourth defendant to the offencex claimed.
The court held that having regard to the totality of evidence led by the prosecution in failing to provide any credible evidence linking the first defendant to the crimes alleged against him in Counts 1-11 of the first amended Charge and/or established a prima facie case against him warranting him to enter upon his defence.
The court also noted that out of the eleven witnesses fielded by the EFCC only one witness, (PW 2), gave evidence where the name of the first defendant (Akpobolokemi) featured, while other witnesses made it clear that they did not know the first defendant and did not have any dealings with him.
The judge then said: “If there is no sufficient evidence linking the accused with the statutory elements and ingredients a court of trial must as a matter of law discharge him. It has no business searching for evidence what is nowhere and therefore cannot be found.”
He therefore discharged and acquitted Akpobolokemi and one Josephine Otuaga, a staff of NIMASA, saying EFCC failed to establish a prima facie (sufficient evidence) case against them.
He also ruled that Atewe who is the second defendant, and Engonzu (third defendant), have to open their defence because they have a case to answer in counts 12 to 22 of the charge.