By Matthew Tabe
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, has discharged and acquitted a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir Lawal and five others, of the N544 million contract fraud charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The court on Friday held that the anti-graft agency failed woefully to establish a prima facie case against the ex-SGF and the co-defendants.
In a ruling on ‘no case submission’ made by Babachir Lawal and others, Justice Charles Agbaza held that EFCC and its 11 witnesses could not prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
The Judge held that EFCC did not establish that Babachir Lawal was either a member of the Presidential Initiative for North East (PINE) that awarded the contract, or a member of the Ministerial Tenders Board that vetted and gave approval to the disputed contract.
Besides, Justice Agbaza held that EFCC also failed to link Babachir Lawal with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) that issued a certificate of no objection to the contract before it was awarded.
Babachir Lawal, alongside his younger brother, Hamidu Lawal; Suleiman Abubakar; Apeh Monday and two companies, Rholavision Engineering Limited and Josmon Technologies Limited, were prosecuted by the EFCC before Justice Charles Agbaza.
They faced a 10-count charge bordering on fraud relating to the removal of evasive plant species to the tune of N544 million for which they pleaded not guilty.
The EFCC had on Monday, November 30, 2020 re-arraigned Lawal before Justice Agbaza.