Supreme Court refuses to grant bail to convicted Nigerian senator

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a post-truth bail application filed by Peter Nwaoboshi, a Nigerian senator jailed for fraud.

Mr. Nwaoboshi, who was found guilty on a two-count charge of fraud and money laundering, has a pending appeal at the Supreme Court where he is seeking to upturn the conviction and sentence.

On July 1, 2022, Mr. Nwaoboshi was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison by the Court of Appeal in Lagos.

But the senator had adopted a number of tactics to avoid a prison sentence, the Supreme Court said on Friday.

Delivering judgment on Mr. Nwaoboshi’s plea after sentencing, Emmanuel Agim, a member of the panel of judges of the Supreme Court, said, “…He (Nwaoboshi) remains free, except for the production of the medical report here. It is difficult to imagine where he is.

“While he remains free, it is very difficult for this court to exercise any discretion over him.”

The justice noted that Mr. Nwaoboshi being a fugitive cannot seek the benefit of the law.

Mr. Nwaoboshi represents Delta North Senatorial District in Delta State. He is the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25 senatorial election.

Agreeing with Mr Agim, a member of the High Court panel that dealt with the plea, Tijjani Abubakar, said Mr Nwaoboshi’s behavior was an attack on the rule of law.

“It is a very sad development in our democracy that members of parliament refuse to respect the law of the land.

“This is an exciting development. This is a slap in the face for democracy, and a slap in the face for the rule of law.

Mr. Abubakar warned that “…no one is above the law. The government and the government are subject to the rule of law. And, we must ensure that there is respect for the rule of law.”

‘Lawyers must set an example’

Commenting further, Mr. Abubakar advised the lawmakers to “lead by example.”

“They make the law, they have to respect the law. And, if they don’t respect the law, it means they failed to do their job.

The justice vowed that the judge will “continue to ensure that the rule of law works. My message is that no one is above the law. The government and the government are subject to the rule of law.

“The application is frivolous. It’s irritating. It’s irritating,” Mr. Abubakar said before rejecting Mr. Nwaoboshi’s request.

The background

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

However, Mr. Nwaoboshi though his lawyer, Kanu Agabi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), approached the Supreme Court to vent his anger.

Determined to free his client from jail, Mr. Agabi, a former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), asked the Supreme Court to speed up the hearing of Mr. Nwaoboshi’s appeal.

He told the Supreme Court panel chaired by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Olukayode Ariwoola, that Mr. Nwaoboshi “is seeking re-election in the 2023 general election.”

The lawyer for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abba Mohammed, did not oppose Mr. Nwaoboshi’s application.

After that, Mr. Ariwoola rescheduled the appeal hearing on February 9, 2022 instead of November 21, 2024.

In 2021, this newspaper reported that Mr. Nwaoboshi accused the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) of using 11 companies as fronts to secure N3.6 billion contracts under the commission. The contract was not fulfilled and the money was not returned.

In 2018, Mr. Nwaoboshi and two of his companies were arraigned at the Federal High Court in Lagos for alleged fraud and money laundering of N322 million.

The EFCC sued the 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, stated that the EFCC could not prove the charges leveled against Mr. Nwaoboshi.

However, the anti-corruption agency appealed against Mr. Aneke’s verdict and was successful at the Court of Appeal, leading to Mr. Nwaoboshi’s conviction.

The Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, also arrested the senator representing Akwa Ibom North East district, Albert Akpan, about corruption allegations on December 1, 2022.

He was accused of accepting 12 car bribes worth N254 million from an oil marketer, Olajide Omokore, during his tenure as commissioner of finance in Akwa Ibom State between 2010 and 2014. He served in the administration of Governor Godswill Akpabio.

The inmate, who is the Akwa Ibom gubernatorial candidate of the new party, YPP, in the upcoming March 2023 gubernatorial election, however, is fortunate to obtained post-conviction bail granted by the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, end of December 2022.