The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, on Thursday, dismissed fraud charges brought against a UK-based professor of neurology Reuben Obaro and his wife Ayodele a practicing nurse.
Justice A. O. Ebong, who dismissed the eight-count charge against them, held that the prosecution acted in bad faith in filing the charges.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had arraigned the couple before the court on allegations that N186 million out of the sum of N450 million seed grant given to them by the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) in aid of a hospital project was misappropriated.
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The money was granted for the construction and purchase of equipment for the Stephen James Stroke Centre of Excellence in the Gudu district of the FCT, Abuja.
However, after calling five witnesses, and tendering several documents, the anti-graft agency closed its case, prompting the defendants to file a no-case submission.
Delivering ruling in a no-case submission argued by counsel to the couple J. N. Egwuonwu, Justice Ebong held that the charges were unfounded and could not be established against the defendants as required by law.
The judge held that the ICPC failed woefully to prove ingredients of conspiracy, misappropriation and given false information charges against the two medical personnel beyond reasonable doubt.
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He said the conspiracy charge against Mrs Obaro and the Stephen James Stroke Centre could not stand in the face of the law because the hospital was an artificial body that had no mind of its own and as such could not conspire with a human being to commit fraud.
Contrary to the claim of ICPC that the seed grant was strictly for the hospital project, the judge, who faulted the line of investigation of the commission, held that no document or any of its witnesses established the allegation.
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