The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed an appeal challenging the acquittal of Tuoyo Omatsuli, a former executive director of projects at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and three others over an alleged N3.6 billion money laundering case.
The appeal, filed at the court of appeal, Lagos division,
also names Francis Momoh, Don Parker Properties Limited, and Building
Associates Limited as respondents.
Ekele Iheanacho, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), is
leading the EFCC’s legal team.
The case stems from a judgment delivered by Daniel Osiagor,
judge of a federal high court in Lagos, who discharged and acquitted the
defendants on all 46 counts bordering on money laundering, conspiracy, and
failure to comply with statutory reporting obligations.
In its notice of appeal, the EFCC argued that the trial
court failed to properly evaluate the evidence before it, including testimonies
from 16 witnesses and multiple documentary exhibits.
The commission also faulted the lower court for allegedly
disregarding earlier rulings of the appellate court in the same case,
particularly on the issue of no-case submission, where a prima facie case was
said to have been established.
According to the EFCC, the trial judge erred in holding that
there was no evidence linking the defendants to the alleged offences.
The anti-graft agency insisted that the N3.645 billion
traced to Omatsuli was unlawful gratification paid by a contractor, and not a
legitimate transaction.
They alleged that the funds were given as “appreciation” to
members of the NDDC board and subsequently routed through proxies and corporate
entities to conceal their origin.
The EFCC said the money was channelled through Building
Associates Limited and other accounts before being used to acquire high-value
properties, with parts converted into foreign currency.
The commission further alleged that the defendants took
steps to conceal the transactions after investigations began, including
restructuring company ownership and creating backdated documents.
The EFCC also faulted the trial court’s conclusion on
criminal intent, arguing that knowledge of unlawful activity can be inferred
from surrounding circumstances, including unusual financial flows and attempts
at concealment.
The EFCC is asking the appellate court to set aside the
judgment of the lower court and enter a conviction against the defendants.
BACKGROUND
Omatsuli and the other defendants were discharged and
acquitted in March 2026 after the trial court held that the prosecution failed
to prove the essential elements of money laundering and proceeds of unlawful
activity.
“The prosecution failed to establish the offence of proceeds
of unlawful activity and money laundering against the 1st and 2nd defendants,”
Osiagor ruled.
“From the evidence before the court, the defendants are not
culpable of the 46 charges.”
The judge also held that the EFCC relied on what it
described as “credible intelligence” but failed to substantiate it with
evidence.
“However, there was no petition against the defendants and
no credible evidence was produced before this court to sustain the said
credible intelligence,” he said.
The acquittal marked the second time the defendants were
cleared of the charges.
They were first discharged in 2020 after a no-case
submission was upheld. However, the Court of Appeal later set aside that
decision and ordered the trial to continue from the defence stage.
Following the retirement of Saliu Seidu, the initial trial
judge, the case was reassigned to Osiagor, before whom the defendants were
re-arraigned in 2025 and maintained their not guilty pleas.
At the retrial, the prosecution relied on evidence from
earlier proceedings, calling 16 witnesses and tendering multiple exhibits
before the court eventually acquitted the defendants.
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