Supreme Court accepts request for speedy hearing on suit of convicted Sen. Nwaoboshi

The Supreme Court on Friday accepted request for speedy hearing on the suit of incarcerated Senator Peter Nwaoboshi who was convicted to seven years imprisonment for laundering N322 million in 2014.  Nwaoboshi is sitting senator in the Ninth National Assembly, representing Delta North Senatorial District on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

A five-member panel of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who read the lead judgment, said Nwaoboshi’s application, noted that there was no opposition by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other respondents, on the request for accelerated hearing of the senator’s case, and therefore, granted the request as prayed, that Nwaoboshi’s appeal be brought forward and heard promptly.

Justice Ariwoola, therefore, rescheduled the hearing of the appeal for February 9, 2023 from the earlier date of November 21, 2024.

Counsel for Nwaoboshi, Kanu Agabi SAN, had notified the court that his client is a serving Senator, who is also a candidate in the 2023 general elections.

Agabi argued that it is necessary  that the appeal is heard on time to prevent a situation where the senator is made to serve jail term only for his appeal to succeed when it is eventually heard.

Counsel to the EFCC, Abba Mohammed, and other lawyers, did not oppose the application.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos had in July 2022 convicted and sentenced Nwaoboshi to seven years imprisonment, including his two companies, Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd, for laundering N322 million in 2014.

Nwaoboshi approached the Supreme Court to upturn the judgement.