A High Court in Sokoto State on Tuesday discharged and acquitted a former governor of the state, Attahiru Bafarawa, and two others of 22 corruption charges filed against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The anti-graft agency accused Bafarawa, who was Sokoto State Governor between 1999 and 2007, and the others of misappropriating and embezzling N15bn.
But in his three-hour judgment on Tuesday, the trial judge, Justice Bello Abbas, dismissed the entire 22 charges against Bafarawa, saying the anti-graft agency failed to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubts.
But the EFCC rejected the judgment, vowing to challenge it on appeal.
In a statement on Tuesday by its spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC said it was unfortunate that despite the nine witnesses it presented before the court, the judge failed to convict the accused persons
Those charged along with Bafarawa but acquitted by the court were Beedash Nigeria Limited, Nasdabap Nigeria Limited, Nasiru Bafarawa and Salihu Gummi.
Meanwhile, Bafarawa, who is aspiring to be President in 2019 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, thanked Nigerians for believing in him and also the judiciary for being the last hope of the common man.
