Justice Inyang Ekwo in his judgment on Monday held that the prosecution failed to provide enough evidence to warrant a conviction.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has discharged and acquitted a former Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF), Mr Stephen Oronsaye, of the N2 billion fraud charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Inyang Ekwo in his judgment on Monday held that the prosecution failed to provide enough evidence to warrant a conviction.
Stephen Oronsaye was granted bail “in self-recognizance” in 2015 during court proceedings for the N2 billion fraud he and a colleague were accused of by the EFCC, according to a statement by the agency.
Justice Gabriel Kolawale of the Federal High Court in Abuja also ordered that Oronsaye’s passport should be deposited with the court.
Osarenkhoe Afe, who is accused of being involved in N2 billion fraud along with Oronsaye, received far less favourable bail conditions.
He is required to post N50 million and fulfil other bail conditions or he will be remanded to prison on July 24.
Former Chairman of the Pension Task Force Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, who was also accused of the crime, did not appear before the judge but sent a lawyer in his stead.
The lawyer claimed that Maina was never summoned by the EFCC. The prosecution, led by Rotimi Jacobs, denied this claim and said Maina had been in Dubai to avoid calls to be in court.
The trio is accused of complicity in using two companies, Frederick Hamilton Global Services Limited and Xangee Technologies Limited, to steal N2 billion through fraudulent biometric enrollment deals.