The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission on Thursday dropped the 47 counts of N6bn fraud charges
instituted against a former Minister of Works, Dr. Hassan Lawal, and
nine others, before a Federal High Court, Abuja.
The charges had been amended three times
and the matter was to start de novo (afresh) after the former trial
judge, Justice Adamu Bello, retired from the bench in December 2013.
Justice Mohammed, upon the oral application by Shittu, discharged the accused and “discharged” them.
Other accused persons who were discharged along with Lawal were Dr. Adeola Ademola, Dave Enejoh, Okala Yakubu and Thahal Paul.
The remaining five accused, which are
companies, were Digital Toll Company Ltd, Swede Control Intertek Ltd,
Proman Vital Ventures Ltd, Wise Health Services Ltd and Abbey Building
Society.
Many Nigerians had criticised a similar
act by the Federal Government when the Attorney-General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, on June 18, withdrew
the N446.3bn theft charges against Mohammed Abacha, son of a former
Head of State, the late Gen. Sani Abacha.
Lawal and others were being prosecuted
for fraudulently obtaining a total sum of N6.41bn from the Federal
Government, Kogi and Nasarawa State governments between 2006 and 2009
under a public-private partnership concession scheme for the
construction of a bridge across River Benue.
The bridge projected to cost N24.36bn
and was due for commencement on May 21, 2007 and completion on May 20,
2009, was to link Guto and Bangana in Nasarawa and Kogi states
respectively.
The federal and the two other state
governments were said to have contributed N6.14bn to the joint account
as stipulated by the agreement while the private partners in the scheme
made no contribution.
Over 130 exhibits had been tendered while it was being heard by the retired Justice Adamu.
Shittu gave no reason for the withdrawal of the charges on Thursday.
He said, “I have firm instruction that the case against the accused persons, all of them, be discontinued.
“To be assure you that I did not make
the application out of my own volition I asked them to put it in writing
and they did. So, as an obedient servant, I have no other choice than
to carry out the instruction. I hereby apply that the charges be
discontinued and the accused persons be discharged.”
Counsel for the other accused did not
oppose the application for discontinuance. But one of the lawyers,
Samson Ameh (SAN), urged the court not to only discharge the accused
persons but to also acquit them.
Shittu, however, urged the court to
refuse to make an acquittal order on the grounds that the accused had
not been arraigned before the new judge, and that the application for
discontinuance was “without prejudice to the merit or otherwise of the
matter.”
Justice Mohammed in a short ruling
upheld Shittu’s contention, holding that he lacked the power to make an
order for acquittal when the accused persons had not been arraigned
before him.
