A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has discharged and acquitted former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, of alleged money laundering and theft involving ₦6.9 billion.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) failed to establish any credible link between Fayose and the alleged offences. The court ruled that the prosecution did not make a prima facie case against the former governor, thereby upholding the no-case submission filed by the defence.
Fayose was standing trial alongside his company, Spotless Investment Limited, on an 11-count charge bordering on alleged fraud, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering.
The EFCC had accused the former governor of collecting ₦1.2 billion to fund his 2014 governorship campaign and allegedly receiving a cash payment of $5 million from a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro. He was also alleged to have laundered several funds through proxies and companies such as Still Earth Ltd and De Privateer Ltd to acquire choice properties.
The court, however, held that the anti-graft agency could not directly link Fayose to the funds in question, nor present sufficient evidence to justify continuing the trial.
Fayose, first arraigned in 2018 before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, was later re-arraigned before Justice Aneke after the case was reassigned.
His lead counsel, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), argued that the EFCC failed to bring forth any solid evidence and pointed out that key actors in the alleged offence, including Abiodun Agbele, were not charged alongside his client, raising questions about the credibility of the prosecution’s case.
“Conspiracy must involve more than one person. In this case, there is no co-defendant. That weakens the very foundation of the charge,” Agabi had told the court.
In siding with the defence, Justice Aneke declared that the prosecution failed to establish essential ingredients of the alleged offences, leaving the court with no option but to dismiss the case.
The EFCC has not indicated whether it would appeal the ruling as of press time.
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