Court Clears Ex-NDDC Director, Others in N3.6bn Case

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday cleared a former Executive Director of Projects at the Niger Delta Development Commission, Tuoyo Omatsuli, along with Francis Momoh and two firms, Don Parker Properties Limited and Building Associates Limited, of a N3.6bn fraud and money laundering case after ruling that the prosecution failed to prove the charges and how the alleged offences were committed.

Justice Daniel Osiagor, who delivered the judgment, held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission did not establish the offences of proceeds of unlawful activity and money laundering brought against the first and second defendants.

The court found that the 46-count charge filed against them was not supported by enough evidence to secure a conviction.

After reviewing the testimonies and documents presented, the judge ruled that the defendants were not guilty and discharged and acquitted them.

The court also found that although the anti-graft agency said its investigation was based on intelligence, it did not provide material evidence to support that claim during the trial.

According to the court, there was no petition before it and no proof strong enough to back the allegations.

This is the second time the defendants have been cleared in the case. They were first discharged in 2020 after their initial trial. However, the Court of Appeal later overturned that decision and ordered that the case continue from the defence stage.

The EFCC had re-arraigned the defendants on May 19, 2025, before Justice Osiagor on allegations of conspiracy, fraud amounting to about N3.645bn and money laundering under provisions of the Money Laundering Act.

The law provides jail terms of between seven and 14 years for individuals and penalties such as licence revocation for companies if found guilty. The defendants pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

The legal battle began in 2018 when Omatsuli was first arraigned before Justice Saliu Seidu of the Federal High Court in Lagos. In 2020, Justice Seidu upheld a no-case submission filed by the defence and dismissed the charges, ruling that the prosecution had failed to link the defendants to the alleged crimes.

The EFCC challenged that ruling at the Court of Appeal in Lagos. In November 2022, the appellate court set aside the earlier acquittal and directed that the trial should proceed.

After Justice Seidu retired, the case was reassigned to Justice Osiagor, and the defendants were again brought before the court, where they maintained their not guilty pleas.

During the fresh proceedings, the prosecution called 16 witnesses who had earlier testified and tendered 34 exhibits marked ET01 to ET34. The prosecuting counsel, Ekene Iheanacho (SAN), asked the court to accept the records of the previous trial and the admitted exhibits to avoid further delay.

The defence did not object, and the court allowed the request. The prosecution also applied to rely on the earlier testimony of one of its witnesses and asked the court to treat all exhibits as properly read. This application was also not opposed.

Despite these steps, the court concluded that the evidence placed before it did not meet the legal requirement of proof beyond reasonable doubt.

Based on this finding, Justice Osiagor dismissed the charges and cleared all the defendants.