A former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA); Mr Temisan Omatseye yesterday declared that he did nothing wrong to warrant his persecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was reacting to his acquittal of charges of corruption for which he was first convicted by Federal High Court in Lagos. He was yesterday exonerated of all corruption charges filed against him by the EFCC. Omatseye was sued by the EFCC.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that, Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court in Lagos had sentenced Mr Omatseye to five years in prison on May 20, 2016, after finding him guilty of 24 out of 27 charges bordering on bid rigging and contract splitting, levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia had ruled then that Omatseye had awarded contracts worth N2.5 million above his stipulated threshold, and accordingly, convicted him in 24 out of 27-count charge.
But yesterday at the Appeal Court, Omatseye was discharge and acquitted on all the charges.
Reacting to the ruling, the obviously elated ex-NIMASA boss told Shipping Position Daily exclusively that he did nothing wrong by his actions as the DG of NIMASA.
“I give thanks to God Almighty for a day like this; I have always said that, I did no wrong. I just want to get back to my normal life after about six years of being on this (trial). These were years when I couldn’t function normally because the allegations were around my neck”, he told our correspondent.
He however stated that he does not harbour any grudge against anyone who played one role or the other in his travails.
“I just want to be grateful to God; I bear no grudges against anyone. Thank God, I now have my life back”, he said happily.
On his grounds of appeal, his lawyer had argued that Omatseye was persecuted and not prosecuted, stressing that contract splitting though existing in the law, the approval above threshold does not exist.
He also argued that the judge threw out a Jan. 23, 2013, letter from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), which cleared Omatseye of any wrong doing while in the agency.
Onyeke argued that the letter was addressed to the former President Goodluck Jonathan, signed by Emeka Ezeh, former D-G of BPP.
He said that the letter had informed the president that after a scrutiny of the case, the Bureau was of the view that the 27 charges were breaches brought under sections of the Procurement Act.
He also said the breaches dealt with administrative breaches rather than real offences under the Act that could attract conviction or sanctions from the regular courts.
He said, surprisingly, the lower court jettisoned the report admitted as evidence in court. It, however, discharged and acquitted Omatseye on a three-count charge bordering on contract splitting.
Onyeke said that the court, however, sentenced Omatseye to five years’ imprisonment on 24-count charge of N2.5million approval above his threshold, which does not exist in law.
The appellate court, presided over by Justice Yargata Nimpar, resolved all five grounds of appeal in the appellant’s favour.
Other members of the three-man panel were: Justice Adejumo Obaseki and Justice Abraham Georgewill.
In reaching its decision, the court considered four issues for determination, including whether under Section 16(1)(A) of the Public Procurement Act 2007, approval for spending over the threshold constitutes an offence.
Justice Nimpar, who read the judgment, considered whether the trial court properly evaluated the evidence.
She said: “I found that it did not.
“The long and short of it, is that, the appeal succeeds. The prosecution should not ride roughshod over the Constitution.
“The judiciary will do the war on corruption more harm by declaring someone a criminal, where no offence has been committed.
“I find merit in the appeal. The conviction is hereby set aside and the appellant is hereby discharged and acquitted”.
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