An Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure, has discharged and acquitted the immediate past Speaker of the State of Assembly, Hon Bamidele David Oleyeloogun, and two others of N2.4 m fraud.

Recall that the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), an Ondo State High Court, had three years ago docked the former Speaker and two others for corruption.

The former Speaker, Oleyeloogun, Hon. Felemu-Gudu Bankole, and a top civil servant, Segun Oyadeyi, were charged by the anti-graft agency with two counts bordering on conspiracy and conferring undue advantages on themselves using their offices.

Delivering judgement, Justice Adegboyega Adebusoye, said the anti-graft agency was unable to prove the allegation of conspiracy and corruption against the lawmakers and the civil servant beyond reasonable doubt.

The EFCC had in charge AK/106C/2022 alleged the trio of misappropriation of N2.4 million belonging to the State Assembly.

According to the anti-graft agency, the fund was meant for a seminar, which the lawmakers and the civil servants were meant to attend.

The alleged fraud prosecuted by the EFCC was said to have been committed in 2019, when the lawmakers were supposed to have attended a two-day seminar organized by the National Productivity Centre, Lagos.

According to the EFCC, the lawmakers requested for funds to be released for four members of the Committee on Tertiary Education to attend the seminar scheduled for Wednesday, 11th, and Thursday, 12th December 2019.

Principal officers of the assembly pencilled down to attend the Seminar included the former Clerk, the Deputy Speaker, Hon Ogundeji Iroju, the Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary Education, and two members of the committee.

The seminar, according to them, was aimed at institutional productivity, consciousness and excellence in service among workers and organizations in both public and private sectors, to accord workers and organizations the platform in achieving high productivity as well as giving impetus to the seminar in charting the pathway in revitalizing the Educational Sector.”

However, it was alleged that there was no such seminar organized, while the money released by the state Ministry of Finance, amounting to N2.4 million was alleged to have gone into private pockets.

However, the defendants in the objection filed by their counsel, Mr. Femi Emodamori, asked the court to decline to strike out the charges against them because the EFCC has no right to prosecute them.

The defendants said the charge was flawed, defective having not been initiated in due compliance with the process of the law.

Emodamori added that there was nothing to prove the charges of corruption against the defendants. He said they should be discharged and acquitted.

According to him the charges involving the defendants involved a pittance of N2.4m.

He said the money belonged to the House of Assembly and in the account of the Assembly adding that there was no evidence to show that the money was spent as alleged by the anti-corruption commission.

In his verdict, Justice Adebusoye discredited the evidence of Ogundeji who was Prosecution Witness 1.

The Judge said the evidence was given with malice noting that what he said in evidence in chief contradicted his evidence in cross-examination.

Adebusoye, therefore said that the failure of the prosecution to call other lawmakers and civil servants who were supposed to attend the seminar was fatal to the case of the prosecution.

Also, the court said there was no evidence that the fund in question was kept in the private account of the defendants adding that it has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt that the defendants used the advantages of their offices to corruptly enrich themselves.

The court added that since the prosecution was unable to prove the ingredients of the conspiracy and confer an undue advantage on themselves, they were consequently discharged and acquitted.

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