Supreme Court Upturns Bode George’s Conviction

A panel of judges at the Supreme Court on Friday absolved Bode George, a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain of the fraud charges levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

George, along with some other members of the board of the Nigerian Ports Authoruty, NPA , was convicted by Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of a Lagos High Court and sentenced to two years in prison.

He served out his two year jail term at the Kirikiri Maximum prison about three years ago but appealed his conviction at the Supreme Court.

In a surprise ruling on Friday, the apex court said the EFCC had no evidence that George committed fraud through “contract splitting” when he was chairman of the NPA board and therefore acquitted the accused.

While delivering the judgement, Justice John Afolabi Fabiyi, ruled that the charges of “contract splitting” on which the EFCC arraigned and secured George’s conviction was unknown to law.