The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, under the leadership of its new Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has said that it will challenge the victory of the Delta North Senator, Peter Nwaoboshi, who was recently discharged and acquitted of an alleged fraud charge to the tune of N322 million, on June 18, by a Federal High Court,
The Spokesman for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, made this known in an interview with Saturday PUNCH.
He said: “We will be taking Senator Nwaoboshi’s case before the Court of Appeal.”
The EFCC’s position came just after President Muhammadu Buhari personally welcomed the Senator from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, into the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, live at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, in Abuja, on Friday.
Senator Nwaoboshi and two companies, Golden Touch Construction Project Limited and Suiming Electrical Ltd., were arraigned for acquiring a property, Guinea House, on Marine Road, Apapa, Lagos for N805 million, and the EFCC alleged that N322 million out of the N805 million, was part of the proceeds of fraud.
However, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke said that the EFCC relied on hearsay as evidence to prove its case.
One week after his acquittal, the Senator was welcomed by the President, according to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President, on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
The statement read in part: “President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, in Abuja, welcomed Senator Peter Nwaoboshi to the APC, after he left the Peoples Democratic Party, saying: ‘you are welcome to the progressives family’.
“Senator Nwaoboshi, representing Delta North District, Delta State, was presented to President Buhari and the National Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, at the State House, by Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege.
“The Deputy Senate President said Senator Nwaoboshi’s decision to join the APC, clearly shows that the effort of the CECPC was yielding fruit. The Senator was warmly welcomed by party members.”
Senator Nwaoboshi’s defection came 2 days after the Delta State PDP suspended him from the party for 1 month, over anti-party activities.
According to the PDP, the action became necessary, against the backdrop of the recent “romance with an opposition party, APC, verbal recklessness and unprovoked utterances of Nwaoboshi which the state PDP Working Committee views strongly as totally unacceptable and disturbing”.
The Senator was also said to have been embroiled in verbal attacks against the Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, whom he succeeded at the Senate, in 2015.
Senator Nwaoboshi had recently rated Governor Okowa’s government as poorly performing, compared to his predecessors, James Ibori and Emmanuel Uduaghan.
More news later…