Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, representing Delta North Senatorial District in the Senate has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment by the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal.
The court also ordered that his two companies, Golden Touch Construct-ion Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd, owned by the politician also called Oracle by admirers, be wound up in line with the provisions of Section 22 of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2021.
The Appellate Court’s ruling followed the success of the appeal challenging the judgment of Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court which on June 18, 2021 discharged and acquitted the defendants of a two count charge of fraud and money laundering.
EFCC had arraigned the three defendants over the acquisition of a property named Guinea House, Marine Road, in Apapa, Lagos for N805 million.
Part of the money paid to the vendor, precisely N322 million transferred by Suiming Electrical Ltd on behalf of Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd , was alleged to be part of proceeds of fraud.
But in his judgment, Justice Aneke held that the prosecution failed to call vital witnesses and tender concrete evidence to prove the elements of the offences for which it charged the defendants.
Justice Aneke said the evidence of PW2 “proved that the third defendant obtained a loan of N1.2 billion from Zenith Bank for purchase of additional equipment and as provision of working capital.
“It also proved that the loan of N1.2 billion together with interest of N24 million was properly granted to the third. Nothing else was proved by the complainant or prosecutor in this case,” the judge said.
He claimed a fatal blow was dealt the case of the prosecution by its failure to call officials of Sterling Bank “to testify and probably tender exhibits F and F10”.
Consequent-ly, he discharged and acquitted the defendants.
However, ruling on the EFCC’s appeal, the Court of Appeal held that the trial judge erred in dismissing the charges against the respondents. It said the prosecution had proved the ingredients of the offence and consequently found the defendants guilty as charged.
Meanwhile, supporters of Senator Nwaboshi have expressed belief that the senator will bounce back in no distant time.
Those spoken to in his community, Ibusa, Oshimili North LGA of Delta State noted that Senator Nwaoboshi was being witch-hunted by some individuals in Delta State because of his soaring popularity.
According to Comrade Peter Legacy, a close aide of the senator, Nwaoboshi’s travails have nothing to do with his performance as a senator.
In his words, “Senator Nwaoboshi has surpassed his predecessors in term of performance in office and if you compare him with other candidates for the senatorial election, he stands shoulder higher than the rest. He has more experience and he has performed better.”
He said the senator would come out stronger, adding that since the judgment has been appealed there was little he could say.
Another respondent, Mr Nicholas Osemeke, a resident of Ibusa was of the opinion that Senator Nwaoboshi would get justice at the Supreme Court. He said it was a sad development that Deltans were behind the ordeal of the senator because of desperation towards 2023 elections.
Mrs Lydia Okafor in her own remarks noted that Senator Nwaoboshi was a victim of political desperation but expressed belief that he would be victorious at the Supreme Court.
However, Elder Godswill Umejie appealed to people not to give political colouration to the ordeal of the jailed senator.
He pointed out that Nwaoboshi’s case with EFCC started even before he joined the All Progressives Congress (APC). He advised that people should allow the court to decide if he is guilty or not.
“Nwaoboshi won the case at the High Court before losing at the Appeal Court. Let us be patient now that he has appealed the judgment at the Supreme Court. We can only pray that the Supreme Court hastens up the case so that it does not affect his political pursuit if he is not found guilty at the end.”
Attempt to speak with the publicity secretary of the APC in Delta State over the travails of the Delta North Senatorial candidate of the party for 2023 election was not successful as he could not be reached.
