Ladoja: Court finds former Oyo governor not guilty of N4.7bn fraud charge

A Lagos State division of the Federal High Court has acquitted a former Oyo State governor, Rasheed Ladoja, after finding him not guilty of corruption charges filed against him.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused him of money laundering to the tune of N4.7 billion when he was governor.

He was accused of converting the state's funds for personal use through fraudulent methods, in contravention of sections 17(a) and 18(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004.

During the reading of his judgement on Friday, February 8, 2019, presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the guilt of the offence beyond all reasonable doubts.

He further accused the EFCC of shielding the main culprits from prosecution and meting absolute injustice on Ladoja and Waheed Akanbi, the Commissioner for Finance during Ladoja's tenure who was the second defendant in the case.

He warned that the country cannot sustain a war against corruption if it's not founded on fairness, equity, compassion and responsibility.

He ruled, "In the light of all I have said, I find that the prosecution has not established counts one to 11 against the defendants beyond reasonable doubts.

"I am unable, in the circumstances, to find any of the defendants guilty on any or all of the counts as charged.

"The first and second defendants are, therefore, hereby discharged and acquitted on all counts."

Ladoja was Oyo governor between 2003 and 2007 (he was impeached in January 2016 but reinstated in December 2016) and made an unsuccessful attempt to return to the Government House in 2011.