The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, has recently discharged and acquitted Patrick Akpobolokemi, the former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), from charges of alleged N754.8 million fraud. This unanimous decision, delivered by the appellate court, successfully overturned the earlier ruling by the Ikeja High Court, which had previously dismissed Akpobolokemi’s no-case submission. Consequently, the 12-count charge that was filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been quashed.

The EFCC had initially accused Akpobolokemi of various offenses including conspiracy, stealing, and forgery. These charges were specifically tied to alleged illegal transfers from the account managed by the VIMSAS Committee. Originally, Akpobolokemi was arraigned alongside several other defendants, but the charges were later refined to focus solely on him and one co-defendant.

During proceedings at the lower court, Justice Raliatu Adebiyi had concluded that the EFCC had indeed established a prima facie case on certain counts. This led to an order for Akpobolokemi and his co-defendant to present their defence. However, Akpobolokemi, represented by his legal team comprising Collins Ogbonna and Kunle Gbolahan, challenged this ruling through an appeal. Their core argument was that the EFCC had failed to establish any direct link between Akpobolokemi and the alleged wrongdoing. They also contended that the prosecution's case was heavily reliant on evidence deemed inadmissible and testimonies from witnesses (specifically PW9, PW10, and PW11) that were unreliable, along with Exhibits P59–P61.

The Court of Appeal concurred with the appellant's arguments. The appellate court’s judgment highlighted several crucial points: Akpobolokemi was not a member of the VIMSAS Committee, nor was he a signatory to any of its accounts. Furthermore, he neither signed nor approved any withdrawal instructions or internal memos that were connected to the alleged fraudulent transfers. A significant legal principle cited by the court was that a trial court is prohibited from relying on inadmissible evidence, even if no objection to its inclusion was raised during the trial. The court firmly stated that such evidence should have been excluded from the onset.

Applying the principle that "a court must act only on evidence admissible in law," the appellate court ultimately struck out all charges against Patrick Akpobolokemi and acquitted him. This decisive ruling effectively brings an end to the protracted legal battle, concluding the long-running case in his favor. Throughout the trial court proceedings, the defence counsel had consistently maintained that the EFCC failed to prove its case, while the commission, through its counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, had argued that evidence from 12 witnesses supported the charges.