Abuja high court acquits Babachir Lawal and five others over grass cutter fraud charges

FORMER secretary to the federal government Babachir Lawal and five others have been discharged of N544m ($1.22m) grass-cutting contract fraud charges by an Abuja high court bringing an end to criminal charges brought against him.

On February 13 2019, Mr Babachir and his co-defendants were arraigned before Justice Jude Okeke in Abuja by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Mr Lawal was charged alongside his younger brother, Hamidu, and Suleiman Abubakar, Apeh Monday and two companies Rholavision Engineering Limited and Josmon Technologies Limited.

In the 10 counts, the prosecution accused Mr Lawal of criminal conspiracy, fraud and the diversion of over N544m through the award of a grass-cutting contract awarded by the Presidential Initiative for North East (Pine), when he was the secretary to the federal government. During the trial, the EFCC had called 11 prosecution witnesses to testify in the 10 amended charges it preferred against the defendants.

Ruling on the matter, however, Justice Charlies Abgaza, dismissed the charges on a no-case submission filed by Mr Lawal and his co-defendants. Justice Agbaza upheld the no-case submission, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against the defendants.

Mr Lawal, the first secretary to the federal government appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in his first term in office in 2015, was removed from office because of the scandal in 2017. After the EFCC closed its case with 11 witnesses and documentary exhibits he and the other defendants filed a no-case submission, arguing that the evidence led by the prosecution failed to link them to any crime.

They urged the court to dismiss the charges in the absence of any prima facie evidence against them, pointing out that there was no need for them to open their defence. Agreeing with the defendants in his ruling, the judge held that EFCC did not establish that Mr Lawal was either a member of Pine that awarded the contract or a member of the Ministerial Tenders Board that vetted and gave approval to the disputed contract.

In his ruling, the judge held that EFCC also failed to link Mr Lawal with the Bureau of Public Procurement that issued a certificate of no objection to the contract before it was awarded. Justice Agbaza therefore discharged all the defendants of the 10 charges against them for want of evidence to link them with the purported offence.

On August 4 2020, the EFCC had presented some witnesses and tendered documentary exhibits before Justice Okeke passed away and the case was reassigned to Justice Agbaza. Mr Lawal and his co-accused again pleaded not guilty to the charges as they did before the first judge.

In response to the judgement, EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwujaren, said the commission would challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal. He added: “The EFCC has given indication that it will obtain a copy of the judgment for urgent review and challenge its validity at the appellate court.”