An All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator, Peter Nwaoboshi, has been arrested by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Court of Appeal had in a judgement delivered on July 1, 2022, sentenced Nwaoboshi to prison after it convicted him of a two-count of money laundering and also ordered the winding up of his two companies, Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd, in line with the provision of Section 22 of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2021, and their properties forfeited to the Federal Government.
But the lawmaker who was not present in court at the time of the ruling went underground and refused to present himself to the Nigerian Correctional Service.
Instead, he proceeded to the Supreme Court, praying the apex court to not only set it aside the judgment of the appeal court but grant him bail, pending the determination of his appeal.
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In a unanimous decision on January 27, 2023, the apex court dismissed the application.
In the lead judgement by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court wondered why Nwaoboshi, who refused to submit himself to the law, would seek the indulgence of the law.
In a statement on Wednesday, the EFCC said the lawmaker representing Delta North in the National Assembly Iis finally serving his jail term.
“The Senator representing Delta North in the National Assembly, Peter Nwaoboshi, who has been on the run months after the Court of Appeal Lagos Division convicted and sentenced him to 7 years imprisonment for money laundering, is finally in prison custody.”
“The lawmaker who was intercepted by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, at a Hospital in Lagos on Monday, February 6, was finally remanded in Ikoyi Custodial Centre today, February 8, 2023, to commence his prison term,” the Commission said.
The Court of Appeal judgement that convicted Nwaoboshi followed an appeal by the EFCC against the judgment of Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of a Federal High Court in Lagos, which had on June 18, 2021, discharged and acquitted the lawmaker and his companies.
Nwaoboshi and his companies illegally acquired a property named Guinea House, Marine Road, in Apapa, Lagos, for N805 million.
Part of the money paid for the property was transferred by Suiming Electrical Ltd on behalf of Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd. The funds are believed to be proceeds of illicit activities of the convict.
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