A Federal High Court sitting in Kano on Friday dismissed a case of money laundering filed against Mr Abdulkareem Zaura, the governorship candidate of the Green Party of Nigeria in Kano State.
The presiding judge, Justice Ambrose Allagoa, held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, adding that the prosecution did not establish criminal evidence against the defendant.
He said the prosecution left a serious doubt in the mind of the court, explaining that the prosecution pursued its case based on suspicion as against the defendant while failing to prove the charges against him.
According to Justice Allagoa, the EFCC accused the defendant of defrauding a Kuwaiti national of monies amounting to over $1 million, and that the failure of the nominal complainant to appear before the court to give evidence has rendered all the testimonies by the prosecution witnesses null.
He added that the two witnesses brought by the anti-graft were not in a position to relate what transpired between the nominal complainant and the defendant.
The court then dismissed the nine charges filed against the defendant and acquitted him.