Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, was on Wednesday discharged of N6.9bn fraud charges by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.
After the judgment, Fayose broke down outside the courtroom, as his supporters celebrated the victory. Fayose knelt outside the court premises and thanked God for what he described as a vindication.
He was seen wiping tears from his eyes after hugging his lead counsel and exchanging handshakes with members of his legal team.
Fayose also hugged the counsel for Spotless Investment Limited, Mr Olalekan Ojo (SAN), who had joined in filing the no-case submission that led to the acquittal.
The former governor broke into a jubilant song, chanting “Winner ooo, winner!” as he walked out of the courthouse.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke had earlier upheld a no-case submission filed by Fayose and his company, Spotless Investment Limited, ruling that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission failed to establish a prima facie case against them.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had accused Fayose and his company of laundering N6.9bn during his tenure as governor between 2014 and 2018.
EFCC alleged that Fayose took N1.2bn to fund his 2014 election campaign and received $5m in cash from a sitting minister of state for defence at the time, Musiliu Obanikoro, without using financial institutions.
He was also accused of laundering over N1.6bn through proxies and companies like De Privateer Ltd and Still Earth Ltd, in violation of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
The case was initially filed on October 22, 2018, before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun.
Reacting to the judgment, the EFCC, in a statement on Wednesday by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said it was currently studying the judgment and had commenced the process of filing an appeal.
