The Court of Appeal, Lagos, on Friday discharged and acquitted a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi, of a N754.8 million fraud charge.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Akpobolokemi and other NIMASA officials on multiple corruption charges in 2016.
The commission alleged that the ex-NIMASA chief was involved in illegal withdrawals and transfers from the account of the Voluntary International Maritime Organisation Member State Audit Scheme (VIMSAS) Committee.
He challenged the charges and asked the court to dismissed them for lack of evidence.
Justice Raliat Adeniyi of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja. dismissed Akpobolokemi’s no-case submission and asked him to enter his defence on the charges.
She held that a prima facie case had been established against the former NIMASA boss by the commission.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Akpobolokemi’s legal team led by Collins Ogbonna and Kunle Gbolahan, approached the appeal court to set it aside.
In Friday’s ruling delivered via zoom, the three-member panel of the appellate court set aside the lower court’s ruling and discharged him on the charges.
The panel held that the prosecution failed to establish any link between Akpobolokemi and the alleged crimes.
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