Justice Joseph Oyewole of the Ikeja High Court in Lagos on Thursday freed one John Enebong, an immigration officer who was charged to court for allegedly collecting a N10,000 bribe.
Enebong was dragged to court by the Independent and Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) for allegedly soliciting and collecting the sum of N10, 000 from one Bayo Akinlade on May 22, 2002.
He was charged with soliciting for gratification, receiving gratification as well using his office to confer unfair advantage on himself.
The anti-corruption body had alleged that the amount was collected from the victim by Enebong in his office to procure a Nigerian International Passport.
In his judgment, Oyewole said it was the onus of the prosecution in a criminal matter to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was guilty of the charges levied against him.
He said it was never proven in court that Enebong had approached the victim to solicit for bribe; rather, it was the alleged victim who approached the accused.
For the sake of clarity, it has not been proven that he had urged or advised Akinlade to offer him gratification.
There was no evidence that the said N10, 000 was for gratification as both the victim and the accused had not testified to that before this court,” Oyewole added.
He said there was no evidence to prove that Enebong had used his position as an immigration officer to exploit the victim as claimed by the prosecution.
The judge noted that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Enebong was guilty of any of the three-count charge.
I found him not guilty of each of the three counts and I hereby discharge and acquit him of all the charges”, Oyewole said.
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