By Ayo Kehinde
The Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal has discharged and acquitted a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi, of alleged N754.8 million fraud.
In a unanimous judgement on Friday, the appellate court quashed the 12-count charge filed against Akpobolokemi by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and set aside the ruling of the Ikeja High Court which dismissed his no-case submission.
The anti-graft agency had accused Akpobolokemi of conspiracy, stealing, and forgery in connection with alleged illegal transfers from the account of the VIMSAS Committee.
At the lower court, Justice Raliatu Adebiyi had ruled that the EFCC had established a prima facie case on some of the counts and ordered Akpobolokemi and his co-defendant to open their defence.
Akpobolokemi, through his lawyers Collins Ogbonna and Kunle Gbolahan, appealed the ruling, arguing that the EFCC failed to link him to any wrongdoing and relied on inadmissible evidence and unreliable witness testimonies, including those of PW9, PW10, and PW11, as well as Exhibits P59–P61.
Ruling on Friday, the Court of Appeal held that Akpobolokemi was neither a member of the VIMSAS Committee nor a signatory to any of the Committee’s accounts;
Holding that the appellant neither signed nor approved any withdrawal instructions or internal memos related to the alleged fraudulent transfers, the appellate court held that a trial court cannot rely on inadmissible evidence even if no objection is raised during trial and concluded that such evidence should have been excluded.
Citing the principle that “a court must act only on evidence admissible in law”, the appellate court struck out the charges and acquitted Akpobolokemi.
