Former federal lawmaker Onamusi Onadeko has appealed the only conviction recorded against him by a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja after the court cleared him of 10 other counts linked to alleged corruption and diversion of public funds.
Justice Chizoba Oji, in a judgment delivered on July 30, convicted Onadeko on a single count involving allegedly inconsistent statements made during an investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The court sentenced him to nine months in prison, with an option of paying a N50,000 fine.
However, Onadeko’s legal team has rejected the conviction and commenced the process of challenging it at the appellate court.
In a statement signed by his lead counsel, Wahab Olatoye, on Monday, the former lawmaker’s lawyers said they had received instructions to appeal the verdict after reviewing the judgment.
“Our legal team is currently studying the full judgment and the ratio decidendi on the conviction.
“Consequently, we have received instructions to immediately file an appeal against the conviction on the count of making inconsistent statements,” the statement said.
The judgment brought to a close an eight-year legal battle initiated by the ICPC in 2017 in Charge No. FCT/HC/CR/311/17, involving the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Onadeko.
According to the ICPC, the court found the former lawmaker guilty on count 11 but discharged and acquitted him on the other counts.
The anti-graft agency’s spokesperson, John Odey, had said the court also ruled that Onadeko’s letter of appointment, alongside a Supreme Court decision in the case of Federal Government of Nigeria v. Farouk Lawan, established that legislative aides fall within the definition of public officers under the ICPC Act.
Onadeko’s counsel, however, maintained that the former lawmaker was cleared of the substantive corruption allegations after the prosecution failed to prove its case.
Olatoye said the court relied substantially on the evidence presented by four prosecution witnesses, identified as PW1, PW2, PW3 and PW4.
According to him, the witnesses testified that the contracts under investigation were awarded in compliance with the Public Procurement Act.
He said the court therefore discharged and acquitted Onadeko on 10 of the 11 counts relating to corruption and diversion of public funds.
The lawyer said his client accepted the judgment while exercising his constitutional right to challenge the remaining conviction.
“We respect the judgment of the court,” Olatoye said, adding that the legal team was studying the reasoning behind the conviction before proceeding with the appeal.
Onadeko represented Ogun East Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003.
The ICPC had accused him of involvement in alleged irregularities surrounding N68.7 million constituency projects executed while he served as a Senior Legislative Aide to the late Senator Buruji Kashamu between 2015 and 2019.
The projects reportedly included the procurement of ambulances, provision of medical equipment and drugs to primary healthcare centres, as well as the construction of classrooms across six communities in Ogun East Senatorial District.
The commission had alleged that two private companies, Stanton Engineering Limited and Haines and Baines Limited, were used in executing the projects.
Onadeko was also accused of providing contradictory information to investigators concerning his relationship with Haines and Baines Limited.
The ICPC alleged that he identified himself as a director of the company in a 2016 affidavit but subsequently told investigators in 2017 that he was neither a shareholder nor a director of the firm.
With the appeal now underway, the legal battle over the lone conviction is set to continue at the appellate level.
