A combined photo of Modibbo Kawu and Lucky Omoluwa
By Victory Oghene
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday discharged and acquitted the late Chairman of Pinnacle Communications Limited, Sir Lucky Omoluwa and the former Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Ishaq Kawu, of the alleged N2.5 billion corruption charge.
Also acquitted was Dipo Onifade, the former Chief Operating Officer of Pinnacle Communications.
Delivering judgment, Justice Folashade Giwa-Ogunbanjo held that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) failed to prove the allegations preferred against Omoluwa and the co-defendants.
Omoluwa, Kawu and Onifade were charged on amended five counts of diverting funds meant for the Digital Switch Over (DSO) system introduced by the Federal Government.
Omoluwa and others were arraigned over their alleged complicity in the mismanagement of the N2.5 billion seed grant.
ICPC alleged that the former NBC director-general hoodwinked the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, to approve payment of N2.5 billion to Pinnacle Communications Limited, a private company owned by his friend, Omoluwa who is the 3rd defendant.
According to the anti-graft agency, Omoluwa, whose firm was not qualified for such grant, subsequently transferred the sum of N537.25million out of the N2.5 billion to a Bureau De Change operator for the dollar equivalent.
The BDC operator was said to have delivered the dollars in cash to the 3rd defendant (Omoluwa) at his residence in Kaduna.
Although the anti-corruption commission earlier filed a 12-count charge against the defendants, it was later amended to five counts.
The offence, the anti graft agency said, is contrary to Section 26(1) (c ) and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000″
