N50m Bribe: Appeal Court reprimands Obasanjo • Sets Wabara, Osuji, others free
From Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja, 06.02.2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja yesterday reprimanded former President Olusegun Obasanjo for subjecting former Senate President, Chief Adolphous Wabara, former Minister of Education, Prof. Fabian Osuji, and Senator Ibrahim Abdulazeez to a pre-court trial in his radio and television nationwide broadcast in 2005 in which the accused persons were pronounced guilty.




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The trio were standing trial in a 15-count charge brought against them by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).


The Court held that the action of the federal government on the allegation was most embarrassing, barbaric and uncivilised because the accused persons had not even made statements to any security agents before the broadcast trial and finally pronounced guilty,


They were yesterday set free from the criminal charges of obtaining N50m bribe and breaching of public trust.

The appeal court consequently set the trio free and quashed the 15-count charges brought against them by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).


The ICPC had brought Wabara and other accused persons on trial on the allegation that they obtained N50m to facililate easy passage of the budget of the Federal Ministry of Education in 2005.

Three of the accused persons - Senators Badamasi Maccido and Emmanuel Okpede and one other - died during the trial and their names struck out from the charge sheet.


The appellate court held that the criminal charges were frivolous, baseless and lacking in merit and as such cannot be sustained by any prosecution.


In the judgment of the court delivered by Justice Mary Peter Odili, the court held that the charges were bogus and failed to disclose prima facie cases against the accused persons.

The court wondered why the prosecution failed to attach the list of witnesses and other relevant documents to the charges as demanded by law.


It upheld the submission of Chris Uche (SAN ) that the accused persons have been tried and convicted by former President Obasanjo and that and any other trial would amount to double jeopardy.

Justice Odili, who reviewed the trial, which lasted seven years held that the performance of the prosecution fell below standard and expectation.


The court held that the prosecution failed to prove their case because some of the alleged offences were not defined in law adding that every charge or indictment must be made so clear in law .

The court also held that the failure of the prosecution to attach the list of witnesses as demanded by law was a great error, blunder and was fatal to the case of the prosecution.


Justice Odili said that the accused persons had no case to answer in law and consequently set them free.

The accused persons had approached an Abuja High Court to quash the charges against them but justice Oseni Muktar on November 10, 2005 dismissed the request. They then proceeded to the Court of Appeal.