An Abuja Division of the Appeal Court on Tuesday dismissed a case of N600 million fraud brought against a former chairman of the Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security, Saliu Atawodi.
Mr. Atawodi, a retired air vice marshal, was accused of diverting the sum, meant for the purchase of gun boats to address oil bunkering in the Niger-Delta.
He was charged alongside Rabiu Hassan by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC in May, 2016.
The money, totalling N620.9 million, was meant to be used for the purchase of six K-38 armoured patrol boats.
A Federal High Court in Abuja had refused a no-case submission of the defendants in March this year.
After the ruling at the lower court, the accused approached the appeal court, arguing that the prosecution failed to prove its allegation against them.
A three-man panel of justices at the appeal court led by Justice Tani Hassan-Yusuf upheld the application of the accused, and discharged the case against them.
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