Nnamdi Felix/ Abuja

Former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, has been discharged and acquitted by an Abuja high court where he’s been standing trial alongside Emeka Ebilah, on corruption charges involving about N170 million.

However, his co-accused, Mr. Ebilah, a former Secretary of the National Economic Intelligence Committee, NEIC, was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment without an option of fine.

Ogbulafor: Freed

Events leading to the court’s judgment in the matter on Thursday following three consecutive adjournments over Mr. Ebilah’s absence from court indicates that the former secretary of NEIC may have got wind of the fate that was to befall him.

Ebilah had sought refuge at the National Hospital in Abuja on claims of ill-health which frustrated the court’s judgment. Following his failure to show up personally in court to hear the court’s judgment as is required in criminal law, the trial judge, Justice Ishaq Bello had appointed some lawyers and a journalist to visit the hospital and ascertain that the accused person was indeed hospitalized in the absentce of any medical report from the hospital.

The team visited the hospital and found the accused person at the emergency ward contrary to the claims by his lawyers that he was admitted at the intensive care unit of the hospital.

On the rescheduled date of Tuesday 31st September, Ebilah again failed to show up in court despite the fact that he was sighted by a court official at the chambers of the private lawyer prosecuting the accused persons on the fiat of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

A visibly very angry Justice Bello thereafter issued a bench warrant against Emeka Ebilah which led to his presence in court on a wheel chair, indicating that he was not too well, for his sentencing. The court found him guilty of the charge brought against him.

Ogbulafor and Ebilah were arraigned before the court on 10th May, 2010 by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission, ICPC, for allegedly conspiring with others to float three fictitious companies which they used to defraud the federal government of N170 million.

They were accused of using Henrichiko Nigeria Limited, DHL Consultants and Chekwas Industries to fraudulently obtain N82.6 million, N11.5 million and N6.2 million in 2001.

Mr. Ogbulafor was specifically accused of using his position as the head of the National Economic Intelligence Committee, set up to verify debts owed local contractors, to okay as genuine, several forged claims documents.

He allegedly relied on forged documents to certify that the three fake companies successfully executed jobs worth N104 million and was also alleged to have collected N2 million and N28 million kickbacks from Mr. Ebilah.

The alleged offences contravened Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act, 2000.

In his decision, Justice Bello stated that the prosecution successfully proved the case against Ebilah. “It is my view that the prosecution has proven his case beyond reasonable doubt, the charge against the 2nd accused person, Ebilah, who I now find guilty and convicted as charged”

He observed that Ebilah’s testimony in his defence attracts less than any belief of credibility and pointed out that having watched his misdemeanor in the course of the trial, that he does not appear as a witness of truth.

“I hereby sentence the 2nd accused person to five years imprisonment which runs concurrently with no option of fine” the court ordered.

Mr. Ogbulafor, who was serving as Minister of Special Duties at the time the offence was committed, was generally believed to be receiving punishment over his insistence as the PDP’s national chairman, that the zoning formula of the party which zoned the presidency to the north still stands following the demise of late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

The court held that the prosecution failed to prove any of the counts in the charge against Ogbulafor and thereafter discharged and acquitted him.