The Federal High Court, Abuja on Thursday discharged a former Minister of Interior, Senator Abba Moro, of seven out of the 11-count criminal charge preferred against him by the Federal Government.
The court specifically discharged Moro in the counts bordering on fraud and money laundering and ordered him to open his defence in the counts relating to breach of procurement laws as a public servant.
The former minister, now a senator, is standing trial on an 11-count criminal charge bordering on money laundering and procurement fraud to the tune of N675,675,000.
He is being tried alongside a former secretary in the ministry, Mrs Anastasia Daniel-Nwobia; a deputy director in the ministry, F. O. Alayebami; Mahmood Ahmadu and Drexel Tech Nigeria Limited, a firm involved in the ill-fated 2014 nationwide recruitment exercise of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) that resulted in the deaths of some applicants.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), prosecuting on behalf of the Federal Government called over 10 witnesses before closing its case in November last year.
Instead of opening their defence, the defendants including the former minister, filed a no-case submission on the ground that the anti-graft agency failed to establish any element of crime preferred against him and his co-defendants in the charge.
Ruling on the no-case submission on Thursday, the trial judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, agreed partially with Moro and other defendants that the prosecution failed to prove its case against them.
The judge held that Moro, Mrs Daniel-Nwobia and Alayebami had a case to answer in four of the counts and discharged and acquitted Dretex Tech Nigeria Limited and its owner, Alhaji Ahmadu Mohammed from the entire charges.
Dretex was a private Information Communication Technology (ICT) company used by the Ministry of Interior under Moro to carry out the 2014 recruitment exercise that brought about the criminal trial.
Justice Dimgba held that the defendants have some explanations to make in counts 2, 4, 5 and 11 as it relates to breach of the Public Procurement Act, No. 65 of 2007 in the contract awards.
The award of the contract to Drexel Tech Nig Ltd, the EFCC claimed, had no prior advertisement, no needs assessment, adding that no procurement plan was carried out before the contract was awarded.
