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Court Frees Ex-NNPC GMD, Andrew Yakubu, Of $9.8m Fraud Charge

After about five years of legal battle, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, discharged and acquitted the former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu, of the $9.8 million money laundering charge filed against him by the Federal Government.

The trial Judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, said the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), prosecuting Andrew Yakubu on behalf of the Federal Government could not prove beyond reasonable doubts, as required by law, the ingredients of the alleged offences in count three and four which the Court of Appeal had ordered the defendant to answer, beyond reasonable doubts as required by law.

Justice Mohammed agreed with Yakubu that the hard currencies found at his Kaduna residence were from gifts and donations from friends and well-wishers after he retired as NNPC GMD.

The court held that the money was not collected in bulk but in tranches, adding that part of the amount was from his savings from his official foreign trips while he was in office.

The anti-graft agency had, in 2017, raided the residence of the ex-NNPC boss in Kaduna and found 9, 772, 800 dollars and 74, 000 pounds (9.7 million dollars and 74, 000 pounds) in a safe.

Yakubu was, however, arraigned on March 16, 2017, on six counts but the trial court struck out counts one and two.

The Court of Appeal also struck out counts five and six and ordered Yakubu to defend himself on counts three and four.

Thief