A court acquitted the former Oyo-Ita HoS of N570m fraud charges after a six-year trial

A Federal High Court in Abuja has acquitted former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita, of N570 million money laundering charges leveled against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Delivering the verdict on Tuesday, Justice James Omotosho upheld the no-case application filed by Oyo-Ita and eight other defendants, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case after nearly six years of legal proceedings.

“The case presented by the prosecutor does not have any weight,” the judge ruled.

Justice Omotosho criticized the EFCC case and described it as one “built on the quicksand of speculation, suspicion and shoddy investigation.”

He further noted that the prosecution failed to establish the essential elements necessary to sustain a money laundering charge, specifically the existence of an underlying criminal offense.

“The important elements of a money laundering crime, namely the existence of a predicate crime, are clearly absent in the case presented by the prosecutor,” he said.

According to the court, there was no credible evidence to suggest that the funds allegedly linked to Oyo-Ita were the proceeds of unlawful activity. Instead, the judge observed that the contracts referred to in the allegations had been agreed to and executed properly.

He also addressed claims related to estacode, tour duty allowance and travel expenses, stating that there was no indication of wrongdoing.

“There is no evidence before the court that estacodes or duty allowances were approved and then collected without the relevant travel taking place,” the judge said.

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Judge Omotosho faulted the prosecutor for failing to produce important documents such as travel approvals, official memos or audit inquiries that could support his claims.

“Prosecutors are essentially inviting the court to engage in speculation,” he added.

The court also found no evidence linking Oyo-Ita to ownership or control of the companies allegedly involved in the transactions under scrutiny.

“The prosecution did not provide a shred of evidence to suggest that the money was tainted with illegality,” the judge ruled.

Therefore, the court upheld the no-case submissions of all the defendants and acquitted them of the 18-count indictment.

The EFCC had indicted Oyo-Ita and others in March 2020 on charges involving tour duty allowances, estacodes and contract related payments totaling about N570 million. During the trial, the Corruption Eradication Commission presented eight witnesses and submitted documentary evidence.

However, the defense argued that the prosecution failed to prove any elements necessary to sustain the charges.

In an important aspect of the judgment, Justice Omotosho also dismissed alleged confessional statements attributed to Oyo-Ita and some other defendants, citing non-compliance with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.

He argued that prosecutors failed to provide video evidence of how the statements were obtained, as required by law, and then expunged them from the record.

Oyo-Ita was removed from office in September 2019 during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari amid allegations of corruption.