Skip to main content

Alleged N190m Fraud: Court Discharges Oronsaye

An FCT High Court, Maitama, on Tuesday discharged Steve Oronsaye, former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, of the N190 million corruption charges levelled against him.
Oronsaye was also the Chairman, Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force, set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
He was docked on a seven-count charge, bordering on breach of trust and diversion of N190 million meant for the committee he chaired.
The judge, Justice Olasumbo Goodluck, in her ruling on the no-case submission filed by Oronsaye, held that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against Oronsaye.
“There was contradictory evidence by the prosecution witnesses on whether the defendant was still the head of service as at the time he chaired the committee.
“The court seems to discredit the evidence, suffice it to say that there is no evidence linking the accused with the statutory element and ingredients of the offence with which he is charged.
“The court of trial must as a matter of law discharge him because it has no business scanting for evidence that is nowhere to be found.
“I have looked through the case and I am unable to see any justifications for this case.
“The defendant is hereby discharged“ she held.
The prosecution closed its case on November 15 after calling six witnesses to testify.
On December 9, the defence filed no-case submission, on the ground that the prosecution had no case against the defendant.
In his submission, the defence counsel Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), argued that there were omissions of essential elements in the charges against his client.
He said on that account the charges were imperfect.
Agabi said that the charge was initially 2-count, later amended to 7-count.
The lawyer said that was a sign that something was wrong with the charge from the beginning.
He said that the prosecution did not specify the amount that was entrusted to the defendant, nor the mandate of the committee the defendant chaired.
Agabi also said that no evidence of personal use of the fund that the defendant was accused of misusing, but mere allegations.
He said that no offence proven by prosecution to warrant the defendant to enter defence and urged the court to grant his no-case submission.
Responding, the prosecuting counsel, Mr Offem Uket, told the court that the prosecution has proved its case, adding that the defendant should enter his defence.
Uket said that it was not right to bring up the issue of imperfection of charges now, as it was against the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, (ACJA) 2015.
He urged the court to dismiss the no- case submission.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Bayelsa councillor Karma Agagowei was murdered – Police

  Bayelsa Police PRO, Butswat Asinim Michael Adeshina The Police Command in Bayelsa has given some insight into how Karma Agagowei, the Councillor representing Ward 6 of Sagbama Council Area was killed. Agagowei was said to have been shot in the Opolo area of Yenagoa, the state capital while returning from the ward congress of the Peoples Democratic Party on Saturday. Karma Agagowei: murdered He was rushed to a hospital in Yenagoa but died shortly after. While giving the account of the police on Monday, Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Asinim Butswat, said six gunmen accosted a tricycle conveying the councillor. He noted that Agagowei was shot on the chest. He said: “The victim was immediately rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed dead. “The Commissioner of Police in Bayelsa, Mike Okoli, led a team of detectives to the scene and also visited and consoled the family of the deceased. The PRO, however, confirmed that investigation has begun to unravel the motive behind the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Father "chained twin daughters up for 10 years and raped them repeatedly"

A father has been charged with repeatedly raping his twin daughters and starving them in an ordeal that lasted for at least 10 years. Jerry Lee Curry, 51, is accused of chaining his daughters up for 10 years, starving and beating them at their home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US. The father tortured the girls for years, tied them down with chains and gave them very little to eat. As a result of the long stretches of captivity, one of the daughters suffered gangrene and needed surgery to save her feet. One of the victims suffered a "largely detached" left ear and she was found to have scars on her forehead, scalp and back. She said that her father had beat her with a bat and a paddle. Their 10-year-old sister said that she was forced to beat her twin sisters with a stick, but she was not found with signs of physical abuse. The abuse of the twin sisters continued unnoticed for years until one of the twins escaped and managed to alert authorities...
Post a Comment
Read more

Danfo driver sentenced to 1 year in prison for stabbing LASTMA official

A commercial bus driver, who stabbed an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), has been sentenced to one-year imprisonment. Kenneth Anyanwu stabbed Olanrewaju Yusuf with a broken bottle following a disagreement on April 26, 2018. Yusuf, a LASTMA official, attempted to arrest Anyanwu for picking passengers at undesignated bus stops between Obanikoro and Palm Grove in Lagos, but Anyanwu resisted arrest, then he picked up a broken bottle and stabbed Yusuf in the palm. Anyanwu was sentenced by a Lagos State Mobile Court sitting in Oshodi. Magistrate F.O. Ikobayo convicted Anyanwu after he pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of assault and breach of peace. She sentenced him to one year imprisonment or a fine of N50,000. The magistrate also ordered the convict to pay N80,000 for Yusuf’s medical bills.
Post a Comment
Read more