Lagos clears former Enugu governor Nnamani in case brought by EFCC as he agreed to a plea bargain

FORMER Enugu State governor Chimaroke Nnamani has been cleared by a Lagos court after it ruled that there is no valid charge before it in relation to a case brought before it by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In a ruling passed by the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, the former governor was to be re-arraigned before the court on allegations of laundering N4.5bn, an offence said to have been committed during his tenure between 1999 and 2007. This move to re-arraign the former governor is coming 10 years after he was first arraigned alongside one of his aides, Sunday Anyaogu and six companies.

However,  the former governor had challenged the re-arraignment on the grounds that the court lacked the competence to try him and determine the offences against him, especially as a plea bargain agreement had been reached between him, the other defendants and the EFCC. When the matter came up yesterday, his counsel Rickey Tarfa informed the court of an application he had filed disclosing the result of the plea agreement.

According to Mr Tarfa, this led to the institution and determination of the charges against the defendants before Justice Mohammed Yinusa of the same court back in July 2015. He said that in view of the plea bargain agreement entered into by parties, there is no longer any valid charge pending before the court as presiding judge, Justice Chuka Obiozor cannot sit on an appeal of his learned brother, Justice Yunusa.

In his response, the EFCC prosecutor Kelvin Uzozie said that after looking at the affidavits filed by the defendant, he is of the view that the entire proceedings should be expunged to enable the prosecution file fresh charges against the defendant. In a short ruling, Justice Obiozor held that in view of the plea bargain judgement of this court delivered on July 7, 2015, there is no valid charge before his court, so he expunged the entire proceedings.