Supreme Court frees Senator Nwaoboshi jailed seven years for fraud

The Supreme Court on Friday quashed the conviction and sentencing of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi to seven years imprisonment for offences of fraud and money laundering.

The court delivered judgmemt on the case with a split decision of four-to-one, setting aside the July 1, 2022 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, which had reversed his discharge and acquittal by a Federal High Court in Lagos.

The apex court ordered the immediate release of Nwaoboshi from Ikoyi prisons in Lagos where he is currently being held.

Nwaoboshi represented Delta North in the ninth Senate.

The court also freed two companies – Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd – tried with him on a two-count charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The anti-graft agency had alleged that Nwaoboshi and his companies illegally acquired a property which belonged to the Delta State Government named Guinea House on Marine Road, in Apapa, Lagos, for N805 million.

According to the prosecution, part of the money that was used to pay for the property was transferred by Suiming Electrical Ltd on behalf of Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd.

The EFCC said it believed that the funds Nwaoboshi and his company used to pay for the property, were proceeds of crime.