Etim Effiong
Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, on Friday, struck out four of the 10 count charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel; Nigerian Bar Association President, Paul Usoro, SAN, and two others over alleged N1.4billion fraud.
Others mentioned in the charge include Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Finance, Nsikan Nkan; Accountant-General of the state, Mfon Udomah; state’s Attorney-General, Uwemedimo Nwoko, and Margaret Ukpe.
Emmanuel was described in the charge as being “currently constitutionally immune from prosecution.”
Justice Rilwan Aikawa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, had on May 30, 2019, dismissed an application filed by Emmanuel, seeking to quash the charges preferred against Usoro and other defendants by the EFCC.
Justice Aikawa held then that Emmanuel’s application lacked merit because he was not a party to the suit.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Emmanuel’s lawyer, Dr Charles Mekwunye, filed an appeal against the court’s decision.
However, the Court of Appeal on Friday in a unanimous judgement read by Justice Bello Aliyu allowed the appeal filed by Udom against the ruling of the Federal High Court.
The court subsequently nullified four of the 10 counts, which particularly alluded to Emmanuel’s involvement in the alleged crime.
Meanwhile, the Akwa Ibom State Government on Friday suspended a special assistant to the governor over a fraud allegation.
A statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem on Friday, indicated that the suspension had taken immediate effect.
The statement read, “I am directed to announce the immediate suspension of Mr. Emmanuel Nicholas from his duties as a Special Assistant to the Governor. This is because of allegations of fraudulent activities levelled against him.
“Mr. Nicholas will remain suspended until investigations are completed by security agencies and he is cleared of the allegations.
“The Akwa Ibom State Government, led by Mr. Udom Emmanuel, will continue to uphold transparency, integrity and accountability as its core values.”