Abuja – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, secured nine judgments against a former Adamawa State Governor, Vice Admiral Muritala Nyako rtd, his son, Senator Abdulaziz Nyako and 7 of his business partners in just one day.
The agency secured the judgments in Abuja on January 18 against the accused persons in the N29bn fraud charges brought against them since 2015.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja delivered all the nine judgments in separate appeals filed by the nine defendants to seek nullifications of the N29bn money laundering charges against them.
The appeals are: CA/A/CR/589/2021 (by Nyako), CA/A/CR/590/2021 (by Zulfizil Abba), CA/A/CR/591/2021 (by Crust Energy), CA/A/CR/595/2021 (by Sebore Farms), CA/A/CR/596/2021 (by Blue Opal Ltd), CA/A/CR/597/2021 (by Abdulaziz), CA/A/CR/594/2021 (by Pagado Fortunes), CA/A/CR/593/2021 (by Abubakar Aliyu) and CA/A/CR/592/2021 (by Tower Asset Mgt).
In the nine separate judgments on Tuesday evening, a three-member panel of the court, led by Justice Peter Ige, dismissed the appeals by Nyako and eight others.
Nyako and the others had appealed against the July 19, 2021 ruling by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja which rejected their no-case submissions.
The others are Nyako’s son, Abdulaziz,; Zulfizil Abba, Abubakar Aliyu, Sebore Farms and Extension Limited, Pagado Fortunes Limited, Blue Opal Limited, Tower Assets Management Limited and Crust Energy Limited.
In the judgments on Tuesday, the Court of Appeal held among others that Justice Abang was right in rejecting the no-case submissions by Nyako and others.
The appellate court found that the prosecution, led by Mr Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) sufficiently established a prima facie case against the nine appellants to require their being called upon to enter their defence.
The court proceeded to affirm Justice Abang’s ruling and dismissed the appeals by Nyako and 8 others.
It ordered them to return to the Federal High Court and enter their defence to the 37-count charge pending against them by providing answers to questions raised in the evidence presented by the federal government. (vitalnews)
