The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday let off the hook former group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, of the money laundering charges leveled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The court held that the EFCC failed to prove its case against the erstwhile NNPC Limited boss, and therefore discharged and acquitted him.
In a judgement was delivered by Justice Ahmed Mohammed, the court ordered that monies that the EFCC seized from Yakubu who was GMD of the NNPC Limited between 2012 and 2014, should also be returned to him.
The EFCC had on the strength of a tip-off by a whistleblower, raided Yakubu’s guest house situated at Sabon Tasha, Kaduna State in 2017 and discovered the sum of $9.7million and £74,000 which he hid in a fireproof safe inside the house.
Subsequently, the Federal High Court in Kano, on February 13, 2017, granted interim order forfeiting the recovered monies to the federal government. The Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna equally upheld the forfeiture order in 2018.
However, Mr. Yakubu, who was granted bail to the sum of N300million, insisted that the seized monies were part of monetary gifts he received on various occasions.
He told the court that people gave him monetary gifts on occasions such as birthdays, thanksgiving services, and other celebrations he hosted after he left service.
Though the EFCC initially preferred a six-count criminal charge against him, however, the trial court, on May 16, 2019, struck out counts 5 and 6 of the charge based on a no-case submission that was made by the Defendant.
Likewise, following an appeal that was lodged by Defendant, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal further struck out counts 1 and 2 of the charge and ordered him to open his defence with respect to only counts 3 and 4 of the charge.
EFCC had on October 17, 2018, closed its case against him after it produced seven witnesses that testified before the trial court. Yakubu, had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The EFCC had in the charge that was dismissed by the court, alleged that Yakubu had between 2012 and 2014, without going through a financial institution, received cash payments of $9, 772, 800 and £74, 000, and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1 of Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2012 and punishable under section 16(2) of the Act.
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