Court discharges, acquits ex-Jigawa gov, Saminu Turaki, in N8.3bn fraud case
A Federal High Court sitting in Dutse, Jigawa State, on Thursday, discharged and acquitted a former governor of the state, Senator Saminu Turaki of the N8.3bn corruption charges preferred against him by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Turaki and three other companies had been standing trial since May 4, 2007, in a suit filed by the EFCC on 33 counts.
The former governor was arraigned by the EFCC before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal Capital Territory High Court on July 13, 2007.
In 2011, the case transferred to the Federal High Court, Dutse, after the former governor challenged the jurisdiction of the FCT division of the court.
A new judge, Justice Hassan Dikko, was reassigned to take over the case which was formerly being handled by Justice S. Yahuza before his retirement early in December.
The presiding judge, Justice Hassan Dikko, who delivered the ruling, struck out all charges and discharged all the accused persons for want of diligent prosecution.
The judge made the ruling on Thursday based on an earlier application made by the accused counsel, Barrister Saidu Muhammad Tudunwada.
The court further ordered that the travel document of the first accused person, Saminu Turaki, be released to him with immediate effect.
Reacting on the judgment, Tudunwada said that the court found merit in his application for the discharge of the accused person against the 33 counts, adding that, with the ruling, justice had been served and it was a victory for all.
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