The supreme court has nullified the conviction of Peter Nwaoboshi, a former senator who represented Delta north at the National Assembly.
In a split judgment delivered on Friday, four out of the five justices of the apex court held that the ex-lawmaker was unjustly and maliciously prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In 2018, EFCC had arraigned Nwaoboshi and his two firms – Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd before justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos but the judge was later promoted to the Court of Appeal.
They were later re-arraigned before Chukwujekwu Aneke on October 5, 2018 on a two-count charge bordering on money laundering in tune of N322 million.
In a judgement, Aneke had ruled that the anti-graft agency failed to prove the elements of the offences for which it charged the ex-senator.
However, EFCC appealed the judgment and Nwaoboshi was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in July 2022.
Consequently, Nwaoboshi lodged an appeal before the supreme court.
In the lead judgment, justice Emmanuel Agim held that Nwaobishi and his two companies were unjustly and maliciously prosecuted by the EFCC for committing offences that were not known to law.
He also ruled that they were subjected to a needless criminal trial in relation to a civil transaction.
The court also ordered Nwaoboshi’s immediate release from Ikoyi prison where he is currently serving the jail term.