The Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan, has discharged and acquitted a former governor of Oyo State, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, over the N11.5 billion corruption charges levelled against him by the Economic and Financial crimes commission (EFCC).
The case, which started 11 years ago, was presided over by a three-man panel led by Justice Jimi Olukayode Bada while Justices Abba Muhammed and Abdulazeez Waziri were other members of the panel.
The appellate court on Thursday also discharged and acquitted former deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Hosea Agboola, who is currently the Chairman of Governor’s Advisory Council to Governor Seyi Makinde, and a business mogul, Mr. Femi Babalola, popularly known as Jogor.
Agboola who is the second defendant/appellant, served as Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters when Alao-Akala was governor between 2007 and 2011, while the third defendant/appellant, Femi Babalola, owns an engineering firm, Pentagon Engineering Services, that executed some contracts during the former governor’s tenure.
The three defendants/appellants were present in court during Thursday’s proceeding.
Alao-Akala,Ayoola and Babalola, had been arraigned by EFCC before an Oyo State High Court, over an alleged N11.5 billion fraud. The 11 count-charge preferred against the trio include conspiracy, awarding contract without budgetary provision, obtaining by false pretence, acquiring property with money derived from illegal act and concealing the ownership of such property, among others.
Counsel to EFCC, Dr. Benedict Ubi, had told the lower court that when Alao-Akala was the governor of Oyo State, he awarded a road contract worth N8.5 billion between 2007 and 2009 to Pentagon Engineering Services, alleging that the firm handled the contract on behalf of the 33 local governments areas of the state without budgetary provision.
