When Ubah’s Sins Were Forgiven

When the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Adams Oshiomhole, in January 2019 said any politician who joined the party would have his sins forgiven, Nigerians did not know that the gesture would be in eternity.

It was not until last Wednesday when Justice Nicholas Oweibo of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos struck out the criminal charges preferred against the Chairman of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, Senator Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, that it dawned on many Nigerians that the gesture has come to stay.

Ubah, who barely two weeks ago joined the ruling APC benefited from the party’s “policy” when the federal government withdrew the charges it filed against him and his oil firm.

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) had charged Ubah and Capital Oil and Gas Limited over alleged N135billion indebtedness. It alleged that the senator sometimes between 2012 and 2018, conspired in making false claims in relation to the actual values of certain assets transferred to AMCON under a consent judgement he and his company made.

At the last sitting of the court when Senator Ubah was to take his plea, he was not in court. Consequently, the court directed that criminal summons be issued on him and his company, if he failed to appear on October 18 for arraignment.

Dramatically at the proceedings of the suit on Wednesday, counsel to the AMCON, Oluwaseun Onabowu, sought to withdraw the suit. He informed the court that consent judgments had been reached by parties in other sister cases in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. He consequently urged the court to strike out the charge filed against the defendants.

Also, counsel to the defendants, Mrs. Ifeoma Esom, confirmed to the court that agreements had been reached with the complainant.

Consequently, Justice Oweibo in a bench ruling struck out the charge and Ubah’s alleged sins were forgiven.

Since Oshiomhole made the comment at APC rally in Benin City, while receiving some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into the APC, not only has a lot of those standing trial or being investigated by anti-graft agencies joined the ruling party, their charges and investigation have truly been dropped.

This development has effectively weakened the fight against corruption