After five years of legal brawl, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja Thursday discharged and acquitted Andrew Yakubu, a former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of $9.8 million money laundering charges.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed gave the verdict while delivering judgement in the alleged fraud- related matter that had spanned years of legal scuffle between the prosecution and Yakubu’s defence team.
By the development, the trial court has finally acquitted Yakubu on the two remaining charges slammed against him.
Blueprint earlier reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had in 2017 stormed Yakubu’s residence at Sabon Tasha in Kaduna where $9.8 million was found and seized from him.
The cash allegedly found after the operation, according to the anti-graft agency, was $9,772, 800 and £74,000 neatly kept in a safe.
Consequently, on the 16th, March 2017, the agency slammed a six-count charge bordering on money laundering and other offences against Yakubu.
The ex-NNPC helmsman was thereafter docked before Justice Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
While ruling on a no-case submission filed by the defendant, the Court of Appeal dismissed the other four charges leaving counts 3 and 4.
The verdict
Delivering his judgement, Justice Mohammed described Yakubu’s evidence as credible and reliable, declaring that the prosecution failed to establish the necessary ingredients of the charges to warrant his conviction.
“The evidence of the defendant (Yakubu) was not only credible but reliable,” the judge said, adding, “the prosecution failed to contradict the evidence as required by law.”
“The EFCC ought to have investigated Yakubu’s claims that the monetary gifts found in his home came from his friends, but unfortunately for reasons best known to it, the prosecution did not do that,” the judge said.
“To worsen the situation, the prosecution assumed that the money was accepted in one fell swoop as against the evidence of the defendant that he got the money in piecemeal as gifts from his friends when he retired from service in 2014.
“It is a huge error that the prosecution did not tender the money as Exhibit throughout the trial, but made futile efforts after it had closed its case,” the judge noted further.
“In all, Yakubu’s evidence cast a huge doubt on that of the EFCC and the doubt must be resolved in his favour,” Mohammed said.
The judge also agreed with the defence that the funds were received as gifts in aggregate form and not as a “whole” that could have offended the Money Laundering Prohibition Act of 2011.
The trial judge equally dismissed the EFCC’s claims that the funds were proceeds of crime for not going through a financial institution.
Consequently, the trial judge ordered the immediate refund of the confiscated sum of $9,772, 800 and £74, 000 to the defendant.
The trial
On March 16, 2017 specifically, the EFCC brought Yakubu before the court on six counts of money laundering and related offences.
After calling its seventh prosecution witness, Suleiman Mohammed, an operative with the commission, the prosecution closed his case on October 17, 2018.
However, while also delivering ruling on the matter on May 16, 2019, the Judge struck out two of the counts.
But dissatisfied with the refusal of the court to dismiss all the counts, the defendant proceeded to the Court of Appeal.
On April 24, 2020, the Court of Appeal in Abuja also struck out two additional counts, asking the defendant to defend only counts 3 and 4.
The two counts upon which judgement was delivered on Thursday was pegged at the defendant’s inability to make full disclosure of assets to EFCC upon his arrest, receiving cash without going through a financial institution in alleged violation of Section 1(1) of the Money Laundering Act, 2011 and punishable under Section 16(2) (b) of the Act.
Subsequently, the Federal High Court had on June 17, 2021,threw out request for the amendment of the charges, insisting that granting the application would amount to breaching the decision of the Court of Appeal that had specified the charges on which the defendant should be tried on.
Yakubu had earlier denied the charges while testifying for himself as a defence witness in the case.
The defendant insisted that the money seized from his home was an accumulation of gifts he received at different times after leaving office.
EFCC moves to appeal
Responding to the judgement, the EFCC said it would go on appeal, insisting the trial judge erred in discharging the former NNPC boss.
EFCC Head, Media & Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, made the commission’s position know in a statement Thursday in Abuja.
The agency said: “He had pleaded not guilty upon arraignment. In the course of trial, the commission called witnesses and tendered documents in evidence, but the defendant filed a no case submission. Based on the submission, the court struck out two of the six counts.
“Two further counts were chalked off upon appeal by the defendant while the appellate court ordered his continued trial on the remaining two counts.”
“Delivering judgment today, Justice Mohammed held that the prosecution failed to prove the ingredient of the offence beyond reasonable doubt.
“He held that the Commission ought to have investigated the defendant’s claims that the monetary gifts he claimed to have received came from his friends, and tender the recovered cash before the court.
“Consequently, he discharged and acquitted the defendant; however, the commission believes the trial judge erred in dismissing the charge and has resolved to test the ruling at the appellate court,” Uwujaren said.
