By Ayomide Otitoju
Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, marked his legal triumph at the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday by sharing a meal of amala with construction workers.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke dismissed charges of money laundering and theft involving ₦6.9 billion against Fayose, ruling that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) failed to establish a prima facie case or directly link him to the alleged offences.
Fayose, who was first arraigned in 2018 before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, had been accused by the EFCC of receiving ₦1.2 billion to fund his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, and of allegedly collecting $5 million in cash from then Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, without passing it through a financial institution.
The case was later reassigned to Justice Aneke, who upheld the no-case submission filed by Fayose’s legal team. Following the verdict, a video posted by Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, showed Fayose eating amala with site workers in a gesture of relief and camaraderie.
