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| Rashidi Ladoja |
The Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday discharged and acquitted a former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja of the N4.7bn fraud charges pressed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in 2008.
Delivering judgement in the 11-year-old trial, Justice Mohammed Idris said the evidence brought to court against Ladoja and Waheed Akanbi, a former Oyo State Commissioner for Finance, was “too low on credible evidence”.
The judge said the EFCC failed to call relevant witnesses that could have helped it to prove its case, adding that the six witnesses it called gave inconsistent and contradictory testimonies.
The judge said most of the documents which the EFCC tendered in support of its case were lacking in probative value.
He noted also that the prosecution was inconsistent with the amount of money it claimed that the defendants diverted and laundered.
Justice Idris described the handling of Ladoja’s case by the prosecutor, Mr Olabisi Olufemi, from the law firm of Festus Keyamo as an example of how a criminal case should not be handled.
Describing the prosecution of Ladoja and Akanbi as unjust, Justice Idris said he found that if anyone was to be prosecuted for the alleged fraud, it should have been the persons who the EFCC fielded as prosecution witnesses two, three and four.
The judge said, “There is a thin line between success and failure; that thin line is called credible evidence. “The case of the prosecution is too low on credible evidence. For this reason, I agree with the 1st defendant when he stated that to sustain the 11 counts, the prosecution called six witnesses, three of whom, being PW2, PW3 and PW4, are particeps criminis, who adduced material evidence.”
The judge said there was no way government would succeed in its anti-corruption fight when real offenders are shielded.
He said, “This country cannot sustain the fight against corruption in the manner in which this case has been prosecuted, where those that should be proper defendants in the case were shielded from prosecution. This is injustice and this court will not partake in an injustice.”
He added, “Prosecutors must be committed to promoting a justice system founded on fairness, equity, compassion.”
Justice Idris said as the prosecution failed to prove any of the 11 counts against Ladoja and Akanbi, he was unable to convict them as requested by the EFCC.
Ladoja said, “I’m grateful to God. It shows that the judge actually understood the issue. What interests me about the judgement is the fact that the judge made some fundamental observations. That if you want to fight corruption in Nigeria, the prosecution should work better.
“He pointed out that the people who were supposed to be charged were shielded from prosecution. Which means that they were only looking for big names; they wanted to prosecute Ladoja because he is a former governor; whereas the people who stole the money were there, shielded by the prosecution.”
He added, “ The 11-year-old trial has taken a toll on me. But I only hope that this will be a lesson to the prosecution.”
In the charges, the EFCC accused Ladoja and Akanbi of conspiring to illegally sell Oyo State’s shares in FCMB, GTB, UBA and Intercontinental Bank, adding that they diverted the proceeds.
The anti-graft agency alleged that Ladoja used the proceeds of the shares to, among others, offset the debt he allegedly incurred while battling against his impeachment in 2007.
According to the prosecution, Ladoja purchased vehicles for Oyo State lawmakers and paid N385m to the lawyers he hired to challenge his impeachment in court.
But Ladoja and Akanbi pleaded not guilty.
Delivering judgement in the 11-year-old trial, Justice Mohammed Idris said the evidence brought to court against Ladoja and Waheed Akanbi, a former Oyo State Commissioner for Finance, was “too low on credible evidence”.
The judge said the EFCC failed to call relevant witnesses that could have helped it to prove its case, adding that the six witnesses it called gave inconsistent and contradictory testimonies.
The judge said most of the documents which the EFCC tendered in support of its case were lacking in probative value.
He noted also that the prosecution was inconsistent with the amount of money it claimed that the defendants diverted and laundered.
Justice Idris described the handling of Ladoja’s case by the prosecutor, Mr Olabisi Olufemi, from the law firm of Festus Keyamo as an example of how a criminal case should not be handled.
Describing the prosecution of Ladoja and Akanbi as unjust, Justice Idris said he found that if anyone was to be prosecuted for the alleged fraud, it should have been the persons who the EFCC fielded as prosecution witnesses two, three and four.
The judge said, “There is a thin line between success and failure; that thin line is called credible evidence. “The case of the prosecution is too low on credible evidence. For this reason, I agree with the 1st defendant when he stated that to sustain the 11 counts, the prosecution called six witnesses, three of whom, being PW2, PW3 and PW4, are particeps criminis, who adduced material evidence.”
The judge said there was no way government would succeed in its anti-corruption fight when real offenders are shielded.
He said, “This country cannot sustain the fight against corruption in the manner in which this case has been prosecuted, where those that should be proper defendants in the case were shielded from prosecution. This is injustice and this court will not partake in an injustice.”
He added, “Prosecutors must be committed to promoting a justice system founded on fairness, equity, compassion.”
Justice Idris said as the prosecution failed to prove any of the 11 counts against Ladoja and Akanbi, he was unable to convict them as requested by the EFCC.
Ladoja said, “I’m grateful to God. It shows that the judge actually understood the issue. What interests me about the judgement is the fact that the judge made some fundamental observations. That if you want to fight corruption in Nigeria, the prosecution should work better.
“He pointed out that the people who were supposed to be charged were shielded from prosecution. Which means that they were only looking for big names; they wanted to prosecute Ladoja because he is a former governor; whereas the people who stole the money were there, shielded by the prosecution.”
He added, “ The 11-year-old trial has taken a toll on me. But I only hope that this will be a lesson to the prosecution.”
In the charges, the EFCC accused Ladoja and Akanbi of conspiring to illegally sell Oyo State’s shares in FCMB, GTB, UBA and Intercontinental Bank, adding that they diverted the proceeds.
The anti-graft agency alleged that Ladoja used the proceeds of the shares to, among others, offset the debt he allegedly incurred while battling against his impeachment in 2007.
According to the prosecution, Ladoja purchased vehicles for Oyo State lawmakers and paid N385m to the lawyers he hired to challenge his impeachment in court.
But Ladoja and Akanbi pleaded not guilty.
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