Court discharges, acquits suspended SEC DG, Gwarzo
An FCT High Court has discharged and acquitted the suspended Director General of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo. Gwarzo was arraigned on a five-count charge by the Independent and Corrupt Practices and Other Related Commission (ICPC) along with Zakawani Garba, a commissioner in SEC for allegedly paying himself severance benefits of N104.8m […]
Dr Mounir Gwarzo.
An FCT High Court has discharged and acquitted the suspended Director General of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo.
Gwarzo was arraigned on a five-count charge by the Independent and Corrupt Practices and Other Related Commission (ICPC) along with Zakawani Garba, a commissioner in SEC for allegedly paying himself severance benefits of N104.8m and N10.4m in excess of car grant while still in service.
Ruling on his no-case submission on Tuesday, the trial judge, Justice Husseini Baba-Yusuf, held that the ICPC did not prove any of the essential elements of the offence against Gwarzo.
The judge held that evidence led by ICPC were contradictory and have been so discredited that no reasonable tribunal could find the defendant guilty.
The judge held that the first defendant “is hereby discharged and acquitted of counts 1, 2 and 3 and by inference, all the charge against him.”
The judge also discharged and acquitted the second defendant, Garba of the two counts against him.
Daily Trust reports that the former Minister of Finance at a press briefing on 8th December 2017 stated that Gwarzo suspension followed proven cases of financial misconduct, unlawful catting away of sensitive documents, in addition to unsatisfactory response to queries served him.
However, Gwarzo responded at a public hearing held on January 30th 2018 by the House of Representatives Committee on the Capital Market and Institutions that Adeosun suspended him because of his refusal to comply with her directives to stop the forensic audit of Oando.