A former Chief Security Officer, in Adamawa State, Sheriff Rabiu, has been cleared of an N800 million fraud allegations after a High Court dismissed all charges against him.
Rabiu, who held the position during Governor Murtala Nyako, was acquitted at the Adamawa High Court following a prolonged legal battle in which Rabiu faced accusations of criminal breaches of trust, forgery and conduct capable of causing a public disturbance.
Clearing Rabiu of the fraud charges, the court held that the allegations were not sufficiently established by the prosecution, as pronounced by the Chirpy Judge of the state, Hafsat Abdulrahman.
At the sitting on Friday, Abdulraman discharged him of all counts, stating that the prosecution failed to present credible evidence capable of proving the offences beyond a reasonable doubt, a requirement for securing a criminal conviction.
According to the case presented by the prosecution, the dispute centred on two landed properties said to be worth N80 million and accompanied with accusations of purchasing them in the name of Sebore Farms, a company linked to former Governor Nyako, before allegedly being transferred into Rabiu’s name and later sold.
Prosecutors had argued that the former security aide unlawfully converted the properties for personal benefit, an allegation that formed the basis of the charges filed against him.
Rabiu, however, consistently denied any wrongdoing throughout the trial and urged the court to dismiss the case on the grounds that the accusations were unsupported by evidence.
The matter, which commenced with his arraignment in 2021, saw the prosecution call five witnesses in an attempt to substantiate the allegations against the retired police officer.
The Guild reports that with today’s judgment, one of the state’s high-profile legal disputes involving a former aide to ex-Governor Nyako has now been brought to a close.