Oladimeji RamonThe Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, has discharged and acquitted a former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Patrick Akpobolokemi, who was charged with an alleged fraud of N2.6bn. In a lead judgment on Friday by Justice Yargatta Nimpar, a three-man appellate court panel upheld the no-case submission filed by Akpolokemi in response to the criminal charges. The Appeal Court overruled the decision of Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos, who, on October 16, 2017, dismissed Akpobolokemi’s no-case submission. But Justice Buba, in an October 16, 2017 ruling, dismissed their no-case submissions, holding that they had a case to answer. However, the five other defendants were not discharged, as the appellate court upheld Justice Buba’s verdict that they had a case to answer.‎(Visited 5,422 times, 322 visits today)

Source: Punch June 01, 2018 12:01 UTC