Former Executive Director of Projects at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Engr. Tuoyo Omatsuli, has been discharged and acquitted of money laundering charges by a Federal High Court in Lagos.
Delivering judgment, Justice Daniel Osiagor held that the prosecution failed to prove the allegations contained in the 46-count charge brought against Omatsuli and three others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The judge ruled that the anti-graft agency did not present convincing evidence to substantiate claims of conspiracy, money laundering, or aiding and abetting. He also faulted the basis of the investigation, noting that it was said to have been initiated on “credible intelligence” without any formal petition.
Omatsuli was prosecuted alongside Francis Momoh, Don Parker Properties Limited, and Building Associates Limited over an alleged ₦3.6 billion fraud said to violate the Money Laundering Act. However, despite the prosecution calling 16 witnesses and tendering 34 exhibits during the retrial, the court concluded that the case had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt.
The judgment effectively ends a legal battle that started in 2018. Although the defendants were initially acquitted in 2020, the EFCC successfully appealed that decision, leading to a retrial. With this latest ruling, the court has once again found them not guilty.
