A former Governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, Thursday, was given a clean bill over the N11.5 billion corruption charges levelled against him by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
This was as the Appeal Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo state capital, dismissed and acquitted him and two others of any complicity in alleged corruption charges levelled against them by the anti-graft commission.
Alao-Akala was discharged and acquitted along with a former Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Hosea Agboola and a businessman, Mr Femi Babalola.
The trial, which started 11 years ago, was decided by a three-man panel, presided over by Justice Jimi Bada, with Justices Abba Muhammed and Abdulazeez Waziri as members.
The justices in their unanimous judgement set aside the judgment of the lower court.
The justices held that the trial court erred by ordering the defendants to enter defence for the three counts preferred against them.
The panel held that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against them.
They were charged with conspiracy, awarding contract without budgetary provisions, obtaining by false pretence, acquiring property with money derived from illegal acts and concealing the ownership of such property, among others.
EFCC’s counsel, Dr Benedict Ubi, had told the lower court that when Alao-Akala was the governor, he awarded a road contract worth N8.5 billion between 2007 and 2009 to Babalola’s firm, Pentagon Engineering Services.
Ubi alleged further that the firm handled the contract on behalf of the 33 local government areas of the state without budgetary provision.
He said that the former governor ordered the supply of drilling machines on behalf of the 33 local government areas at the cost of N3.5 billion.
The counsel also said that Alao-Akala conspired with Ayoola to withdraw N2.9 billion from the Join State and Local Government Account.
He further told the court that the former governor illegally acquired some property at Old Bodija Road, Off Rotimi Williams Road in Ibadan, when he was governor.
The EFCC counsel stated that the alleged offences contravened section 22 (4) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act and Section 1 (18) of the Advanced Fee Fraud Act.
The three defendants, however, filed a no-case submission after EFCC had closed its case.
But Justice Muniru Owolabi, the trial judge, struck out eight out of the eleven count-charge against Alao-Akala and the two others.
Owolabi then ordered Alao-Akala to enter defence for the remaining three counts, bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence and award of contract without budgetary provision.
He, however, discharged the former governor on the charges of acquiring property with money derived from an illegal act and concealing ownership of such property.
The judge said the witnesses called by the prosecutor failed to link evidence to the acquired property, adding that EFCC also failed to prove genuine ownership of the property.
Not satisfied with the judgement by the lower court, Alao-Akala and the two other defendants then approached the Court of Appeal.
The appellate court found merit in their appeal.
Subsequently, it upturned the judgment of the trial court.
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