High profile corruption: Ex-Gov Nnamani caught neck-deep in alleged N5.3b money laundering, fraud
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In our review of high profile corruption trials today, former Governor, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State was allegedly caught neck-deep in alleged money laundering and fraud.
Dr. Nnamani, born 30 May 1960, is a medical doctor and was elected Governor of Enugu State in 1999.
He was accused of stealing a whopping N5.3 billion from the coffers of Enugu State and was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Read on:
Chimaroke Nnamani – N5.3 billion fraud
A former Governor of Enugu State, Chimaroke Nnamani, was standing trial alongside his former aide, Sunday Onyekazor Anyaogu.
Nnamani, Anyaogu and six companies had been first arraigned in 2007 for allegedly conspiring to divert about N5.3bn from the coffers of Enugu State.
The case, which had been handled by three judges, was in December, 2017, transferred to Justice Obiozor.
However, a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on February 20 2018, dismissed the corruption charges against him.
The ruling delivered by the judge, Chuka Obiozor, struck out the charges against the former governor for lack of “proper charges” before it.
Rickey Tarfa, counsel to Mr. Nnamani, had informed the court that the defendant filed a motion disclosing the facts that this case has been put to rest by Justice Yunusa in his judgement in suit no FHc/L/09c/07.
According to Mr. Tarfa, SAN, parties in the suit had entered a plea bargain before Justice Yunusa and there were no valid pending charges before Justice Obiozor, as the court cannot sit on appeal for the case of another judge of concurrent jurisdiction.
However, the EFCC prosecutor, Kelvin Uzozie, argued that he had looked at the affidavits filed by the defendant in the case and was applying that the entire proceedings be expunged to enable him file fresh charges against Mr. Nnamani.
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But the judge ruled saying: “I agree that in view of the plea bargain judgement of this court delivered on the 7th of July, 2015, that there is no valid charge before me and I thereby expunge the entire proceedings before me.”
With the court order, it means that the bench warrant earlier issued by the court against Nnamani has been discharged, and become null and void.
Though, the EFCC after judgment announced that it will file a fresh charge against Chimaroke Nnamani, nothing has been heard of such development.
Therefore, the case is assumed closed.
Read also:
High profile corruption: Abebe, Ogunbodede, Kumo, Aliero grace Nigeria’s ‘Hall of Shame’
[This Publication includes a compendium by Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) covering corruption cases as at 22nd of November, 2019.]
