The Court of Appeal in Lagos yesterday acquitted and discharged a former Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),? Bello Lafiaji and his ex-special assistant, Usman Amali.
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?In the judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Ambi-Usi Danjuma, the appellate court held that the two separate appeals by Lafiaji and Amali were valid.
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The appellate court consequently set aside the conviction and sentence imposed on Lafiaji and Amali by Justice Olusola Williams of a Lagos High Court.
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The judge had in her judgment on June 21, 2010, sentenced Lafiaji, to 16 years imprisonment for abuse of office and conspiracy just as Amali also bagged a seven-year jail term.
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But the appellate court in its unanimous decision yesterday, held that the prosecution failed to prove its cases against the appellants beyond reasonable doubts.
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The court,? which upheld the argument of the lawyer to Lafiaji and Amali, Prof Taiwo Osipitan (SAN),?? added that the evidence of prosecution witnesses were marred by irreconcilable contradictions and wondered how the lower court went ahead to convict the appellants.
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It also noted that the lower court failed to investigate the amount that was involved on the grounds that while the prosecution alleged that it was 164,300 Euros that was seized from a drug suspect, Ikenna Onochie, the suspect (Onochie) said it was 168,300 Euros.
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The appellate court? further held that? there were? many contradictions in the evidence of the First Prosecution Witness (PW1) Samuel Gadzama, and other prosecution witnesses, insisting that? the lower court ought not to have found the appellants guilty as charged.?
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The appellate court said: “There was no evidence that these sums were received by Lafiaji, the PW1 himself did not say in his evidence that he gave such sum to the appellant.”
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One wonders if the evidence of PW1 or any part of his evidence during the trial amounted to proving beyond reasonable doubt of receiving either the euro or the naira sum alleged.?