Supreme Court agrees to speed up hearing of convicted senator’s appeal

The Supreme Court on Thursday resumed hearing in the case Peter NwaoboshiNigerian senator jailed for fraud.

Last July, Mr. Nwaoboshi was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison by the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal.

The senator, who represents the senatorial district of Delta North, was convicted on two-count charges of fraud and money laundering.

But he asked the Supreme Court to overturn his conviction.

In Thursday’s proceedings, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, who presided over a five-member panel of the Supreme Court, agreed to speedily hear Mr. Nwaoboshi’s appeal.

In his decision, Mr. Ariwoola rescheduled the appeal hearing on February 9 instead of November 21, 2024.

The ruling followed a plea by Mr. Nwaoboshi’s lawyer, Kanu Agabi, that the case be speedily heard and determined.

Mr. Agabi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), noted that his client is a serving senator, who is also seeking re-election in the 2023 general elections.

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He insisted that Mr. Nwaoboshi’s plea should be heard in due course to avoid the situation in which he was put in jail just because his sentence was overturned by the apex court.

EFCC’s lawyer, Abba Mohammed, did not oppose Mr. Nwaoboshi’s plea.

The background

Following Mr. Nwaoboshi’s conviction, the Court of Appeal in Lagos ordered that his two companies, Golden Touch Construction Project Limited and Suiming Electrical Limited, be wound up in line with Section 22 of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2021.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that in 2021, Mr. Nwaoboshi was accused by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) of using 11 companies as a front to secure a N3.6 billion contract at the commission. The contract was not fulfilled and the money was not returned.

In 2018, the senator and the two companies were arraigned at the Federal High Court in Lagos over alleged fraud and money laundering of N322 million.

EFCC in suit number FHC/L/117C/18 arraigned three defendants for acquiring a property named Guinea House, Marine Road, in Apapa, Lagos, for N805 million. The agency said N322 million of the money was part of the proceeds of the fraud.

The judge, Chukwujekwu Aneke, ruled that the EFCC could not prove the charges leveled against Mr. Nwaoboshi.

But the EFCC appealed Mr. Aneke’s verdict and succeeded in the appeal court, leading to the sentence of the legislature.