A Federal High Court in Lagos has discharged and acquitted Ayodele Fayose, former governor of Ekiti State, of all charges of money laundering and fraud brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
While ruling on a “no-case submission” on Tuesday, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke said the EFCC failed to present enough evidence to prove Fayose had a case to answer.
“The prosecution has failed to provide credible evidence linking the first defendant to the offences as charged,” Justice Aneke ruled. “There is no justification for the court to call on the first defendant to enter his defence. He is hereby discharged and acquitted
Fayose and his company, Spotless Investment Limited, had been re-arraigned by the EFCC on 11 charges of conspiracy and money laundering involving N6.9 billion. The agency claimed the crimes took place during Fayose’s time as governor between 2014 and 2018.
The anti-graft agency had alleged that the funds were part of the money disbursed by the Office of the National Security Adviser under former President Goodluck Jonathan and were illegally diverted for Fayose’s use.
Fayose has repeatedly denied the allegations, insisting that the charges were politically motivated from the start.
Following the ruling, Fayose expressed relief and reiterated his faith in the judiciary. “This is a victory for truth and justice. I have always maintained my innocence, and today the court has vindicated me,” he said.
The headline inflation rate in Nigeria has again eased to 22.22 per cent in June, relative to the 22.97 per cent rate recorded in May 2025. This is according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday. The movement of the June 2025 headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 0.76 percentage points compared to the May 2025 headline inflation […]
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