By Lukman Olabiyi
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos yesterday discharged Abdullahi Babalele, a son in-law to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, of a two-count charge of alleged laundering of $140,000.
Justice Aneke threw out the charge file by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the ground of wrong venue.
He held that the charge against the defendant ought not to have been filed in Lagos when the alleged offence was said to have been committed in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Aneke relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in a case between the EFCC and Mohammed Dele Belgore on territorial jurisdiction.
Babalele was arraigned in 2018 and then re-arraigned on October 8, 2019.
The EFFC accused Babalele of giving former President Olusegun Obasanjo $140,000 on the instruction of Abubakar, who was vying for the office of president in 2019.
He pleaded not guilty on each occasion.