By Adesina Soyooye
A source within the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, says the Commission is likely to appeal the judgement, delivered on Friday which discharged and acquitted former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Babachir Lawal.
Lawal was discharged and acquitted Friday by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, from a N544M contract fraud.
He was being prosecuted by the EFCC. The Commission brought a 10-count charge against Lawal.
But the Judge said the EFCC could not establish a prima facie case against the former SGF.
Agbaza held that EFCC said that no ingredients of any offence was made out by the 11 witnesses that testified for the EFCC.
The EFCC, Agbaza held, did not establish that Babachir Lawal was a member of the Presidential Initiative for North East PINE which awarded the contract or a member of the Ministerial Tenders Board which vetted the contract and gave approval.
In sum, Agbaza said the EFCC failed to link Babachir Lawal with Bureau of Public Procurement BPP that issued a certificate of no objection to the contract before it was awarded.
He, therefore, discharged and acquitted Lawal on all the charges.
Lawal was charged with his younger brother, Hamidu Lawal; Suleiman Abubakar; Apeh Monday and two companies, Rholavision Engineering Limited and Josmon Technologies Limited.
They 10-count bordered on fraud relating to the cutting of evasive plant species to the tune of N544 million. They pleaded not guilty.
But an unconfirmed source within the EFCC told this medium that the Commission is uncomfortable with the Court’s judgment and would appeal it to a higher Court.
The EFCC had, on Monday, November 30, 2020 re-arraigned Lawal before Justice Agbaza.
One of the charges for which Lawal was prosecuted read: “That you, Engineer Babachir David Lawal, while being the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and a director of Rholavision Engineering Ltd on or about the 22nd August 2016 at Abuja, in the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory did knowingly hold indirectly private interest in the contract awarded to Josmon Technological Ltd but executed by Rholavision Engineering Ltd for the removal of invasive plant species and simplified irrigation to the tune of N258,132,735.99 (Two Hundred and Fifty-eight Million, One hundred and Thirty-two Thousand, Seven Hundred and Thirty-five Naira, Ninety-nine kobo) only, by the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) though the Presidential Initiative for North East (PINE) and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 12 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.”
Lawal, an All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain is currently at loggerheads with the the Party over its same-faith Presidential ticket.
