The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday, filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal in Lagos, challenging the acquittal of a former executive director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Tuoyo Omatsuli, and three others over an alleged ₦3.6 billion fraud.
Also listed in the appeal are Francis Momoh, Don Parker Properties Limited, and Building Associates Limited.
On March 3, 2026, Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court, Lagos, discharged and acquitted all four defendants.
The court held that the EFCC failed to prove the 46-count charge of money laundering, despite presenting 16 witnesses and 34 exhibits during the retrial.
In its notice of appeal filed on April 9, 2026, through counsel Ekene Iheanacho (SAN), the EFCC faulted the judgment on seven grounds.
The anti-graft agency said the trial judge failed to properly evaluate evidence, while key findings from an earlier Court of Appeal decision were ignored and relevant anti-corruption laws were not adequately applied.
The commission is therefore asking the appellate court to set aside the acquittal and grant appropriate reliefs.
According to the EFCC, a contractor allegedly transferred about ₦3.645 billion to Omatsuli through Building Associates Limited, describing the payment as gratification to NDDC officials.
It added that the funds were thereafter allegedly diverted for personal use, including the purchase of properties in Lagos.
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The EFCC further maintained that the money was not used for youth-related projects, as claimed, and that the acquired properties have already been forfeited through a non-conviction-based process, a decision upheld by the Court of Appeal in a separate civil case.
The anti-graft agency also argued that evidence tendered before the court, showed attempts to conceal the transactions, including the use of sub-contract documents
Also, the commission held that the trial judge failed to consider critical testimonies from prosecution witnesses, and that the ruling did not adequately address whether the funds were proceeds of unlawful activity
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the appeal.
