N50m Bribe, Two Chinese Nationals Bag Six years Jail Term

Hamilton Nwosa
Writer

Ad

$4.5bn: Court Admits More Evidence Against Emefiele

Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on October 9,2025, admitted more evidence against a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, in an alleged $4.5bn fraud. Emefiele is standing trial on a 19-count charge bordering on receiving gratification and corrupt demand preferred against him by…

NEITI Warns of Deepening Transparency Crisis, Says Nigeria Lost $3.3bn to Oil theft, Sabotage

By Obinna Uballa Nigeria lost an estimated 13.5 million barrels of crude oil valued at $3.3 billion to theft and pipeline sabotage between 2023 and 2024, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has revealed. Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr. Ogbonnaya Orji, disclosed this on Thursday at the 2025 Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria…

Oil Eases over 1.5% after Gaza ceasefire

Summary Israel and Hamas agree to Gaza ceasefire, return of hostages US oil product supplied highest since December 2022, EIA says Stalled peace talks in Ukraine underpin prices Oil prices edged slightly lower on Thursday after Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed an agreement to cease fire in Gaza. Brent crude futures were…

Ad

Justice Abubakar Mahmud Talba of the Court of Appeal, Sokoto Division, on Friday, convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals, Meng Wei Kun and Mr. Xu Kuai, to three years imprisonment for each of the two-count charge for offences of Conspiracy, Money Laundering and attempted Bribery to the tune of N50 Million (Fifty Million Naira) brought against them by the Economic Financoal Crime Comission, EFCC.

The judgement is sequel to EFCC’s appeal brought against the judgment of the Federal High Court Sokoto, which discharged and acquitted the accused persons on all the three three count charge.

Delivering the unanimous judgment, Justice Talba berated the respondents that tried to frustrate the appeal through maneuverings, stating that, “gone are the days of technicalities in law.”

He also emphased that going forward, courts must allow cases to be heard on its merits.

Justice Talba further explained that the EFCC had proven counts one and two of the three count charge before the Federal High Court beyond reasonable doubt but agreed with the lower Court on count three, and accordingly, struck it out because a similar charge is pending before the High Court of Justice Sokoto State.

According to Justice Talba, “the respondents are charged with Conspiracy and making a cash payment in excess of the threshold provided by the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 as amended in 2012 to Abdullahi Lawal (then zonal head of EFCC Sokoto) which was established beyond reasonable doubt before the lower Court. But surprisingly, the trial Judge summersaulted in his judgement and recanted”.

Justice Talba added, “I regret to say that the judgment is like a fiction by the trial judge who created doubts in his mind while discharging his responsibilities. Without doubt, the trial judge grossly misconceived that no offence was committed”

The Judge said further, “conspiracy is a distinct offence even if the commission of the actual offence is aborted, and in the instant case, there exists positive cogent inescapable evidence the offence was committed”.

He, therefore, held that the appeal is “immensely meritorious”. He, therefore, convicted and sentenced the Chinese nationals to three years on each of the two counts with an option of N10 million fine each on each count.

On a final note, the judge said, “before I draw the curtain, the respondents are Chinese and an offence of this gravity in their home country, attracts the death penalty, yet, here, they are corrupting our country. The courts of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will not condone corruption in any way, as President Muhammadu Buhari has said: “if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria”.

Ad

Unlocking Opportunities in the Gulf of Guinea during UNGA80
X whatsapp