The Supreme Court has quashed the conviction of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi (Delta North) and his sentencing to seven years imprisonment for offenses of fraud and money laundering.

The apex court ordered his immediate release from the Ikoyi prisons in Lagos, where he is currently being held.

In a judgment on Friday, the Supreme Court also freed the two companies, Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd. and Suiming Electrical Ltd., tried with him on a two-count charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

In a split decision of four-to-one, the Supreme Court set aside the July 1, 2022, judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, which reversed their discharge and acquittal by a Federal High Court in Lagos.

In a lead judgment by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court held that Nwaobishi and the two companies were unjustly and maliciously prosecuted by the EFCC for committing no offenses known to the law.

It faulted the EFCC for subjecting them to needless criminal trials in relation to civil transactions.

The Daily Post reports that the EFCC had accused Nwaoboshi and his companies of illegally acquiring a property named Guinea House on Marine Road, in Apapa, Lagos, for N805 million, a property said to belong to the Delta State Government.

The anti-graft agency had claimed that part of the money paid for the property was transferred by Suiming Electrical Ltd. on behalf of Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd., adding that the funds were believed to be proceeds of their illicit activities.