A federal high court in Abuja has acquitted Isabella Mimie Oshodin and a company, Bob Oshodin Organisation Ltd, of money laundering charges filed by the federal government.
James Omotosho, presiding judge, discharged the defendants
after ruling that the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable
doubt.
The defendants were arraigned on a 25-count charge bordering
on conspiracy, alleged money laundering, and possession of N22.9 billion funds
said to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
The prosecution had alleged that the funds, linked to the
office of the former national security adviser, were laundered through various
transactions, including transfers to foreign accounts and the acquisition of
properties in the United States.
However, in his judgment, Omotosho held that the prosecution
did not establish that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activity or that the
defendants had knowledge of any illegality.
The court also ruled that key statements attributed to
Oshodin were inadmissible because they were not obtained in compliance with the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).
The judge further noted that the prosecution failed to
present credible evidence to support claims that funds were transferred abroad
or used to acquire the properties cited in the charge.
He added that the absence of testimony from Sambo Dasuki,
former NSA, whose office was central to the allegations, weakened the case.
Dasuki was Nigeria’s national security adviser from 2012 to
2015. He is standing trial alongside Aminu Baba-Kusa, former general manager of
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and two firms — Acacia
Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited — on a 32-count amended
charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering to the tune
of N33.2 billion.
During the trial, Oshodin told the court that the funds
received were tied to legitimate business dealings, including the sale of the
company’s factory and youth training programmes under the presidential amnesty
initiative.
She also said she refunded N180 million to the government
following inquiries by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The defence, led by Adegboyega Awomolo, a senior advocate of
Nigeria (SAN), argued that the prosecution failed to establish the source of
the funds as illicit and relied on inadmissible evidence.
On its part, the prosecution maintained that the defendants
received large sums linked to the former national security adviser and
channelled the funds through various accounts.
But the court held that the evidence fell short of the legal
threshold required for conviction.
“The prosecution has an onerous task to prove the charge
against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt. Where it fails to do so, all
doubts are resolved in favour of the defendant,” the judge said.
“The evidence, whether oral or documentary, must establish
the ingredients of the offence charged in such a way as to leave no reasonable
doubt that the accused committed the offence.”
In a final judgment on March 10, the court held that the
prosecution’s case was speculative and failed to establish the offences.
“Consequently, the prosecution has failed to prove the
offences beyond reasonable doubt. All defendants are hereby discharged and
acquitted of all counts,” Omotosho ruled.
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