N544m Grass Cutting Contract Scandal: See What The Court Just Did To Ex-SGF, Babachir Lawal

N544m Grass Cutting Contract Scandal: See What The Court Just Did To Ex-SGF, Babachir Lawal

A Federal Capital Territory FCT High Court has discharged and aqcuitted Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, from the N544M contract fraud charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The Court ruled on Friday that the anti-graft agency had failed miserably in establishing a prima facie case against the former SGF.

In a ruling on Babachir Lawal’s no case submission, Justice Charles Agbaza stated that the EFCC stated that no ingredients of any offence were made out by the 11 witnesses who testified for the EFCC.

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The Judge ruled that the EFCC failed to prove that Babachir Lawal was a member of either the Presidential Initiative for North East PINE that awarded the contract or the Ministerial Tenders Board that vetted and approved the disputed contract.

Furthermore, Justice Agbaza ruled that the EFCC failed to connect Babachir Lawal to the Bureau of Public Procurement BPP, which issued a certificate of no objection to the contract prior to its award.

The Judge discharged and acquitted all of the defendants in the 10-count criminal charges against them due to a lack of evidence linking them to the alleged offenses.

The EFCC charged Babachir Lawal, his younger brother Hamidu Lawal, Suleiman Abubakar, Apeh Monday, and two companies, Rholavision Engineering Limited and Josmon Technologies Limited, before Justice Charles Agbaza.

They were charged with a 10-count fraud charge relating to the removal of evasive plant species worth N544 million, to which they pleaded not guilty.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, re-arraigned former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, before Justice Agbaza on Monday, November 30, 2020.

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