AFTER being in prison custody for months, freedom yesterday came the way of the formerChairman of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), Alhaji Bello Lafiaji and his former special Assistant, Usman Amali, as an Appeal Court sitting in Lagos acquitted and discharged them.A Lagos High Court had last year sentenced the former NDLEA's bossto 16 years imprisonment for abuse of office and conspiracy, whilehiserstwhile special assistant got a seven-year jail term.Dissatisfied with the verdict, Lafiaji and Amali appealed against the judgmentdelivered by Justice Olusola Williams on June 21, 2010.But the appellate court in its judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Ambi-Usi Danjuma allowed the two separate appeals filed by Lafiaji and Amali and set aside the conviction and sentence passed on them by Justice Williams.The appellate court in its unanimous decision held that the prosecution failed to prove its cases against the appellants beyond reasonable doubts and that the evidence of prosecution witnesses were marred by irreconcilable contradictions.The court in wondering how the lower court went ahead to convict the appellants, noted that the it failed to investigate the amount that was involved. While the prosecution alleged that it was 164,300 euros that was seized from a drug suspect, Ikenna Onochie, the suspect (Onochie) said it was 168,300 euros.The court further said there were lots of contradictions in the evidence of the First Prosecution Witness (PW1) (Samuel Gadzama) and other prosecution witnesses, hence, the lower court ought not to pronounce the appellants guilty as charged.The court held that 'there was no evidence that these sums were received by Lafiaji; the PW1 himself did not say in his evidence that he gave such sum to the appellant. One wonders if the evidence of PW1 or any part of his evidence during the trial amounted to prove beyond reasonable doubt of receiving either the euro or the naira sum alleged.'In order to secure conviction, the prosecution must prove by credible evidence the commission of the offence on each of the counts always beyond reasonable doubts.'The volume of doubts created in each of the counts one to seven entitle the appellants to an acquittal on the various counts of charge against each of the appellants.The court, however, held that there was no miscarriage of justice in that the judgment of the lower court was read straight from laptop and was thereafter downloaded and signed by the judge.Lafiaji's counsel, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan SAN had in his submission argued that section 294 (1) of the 1999 Constitution specifically stated that judgment should be delivered in writing and signed and not to be read on laptop.The appellants had, therefore, in their Notices of Appeal dated July 1, 2010urged the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division to set aside the judgment of the lower court and thereafter discharge and acquit them respectively.
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