By Chisaa Okoye (Business reporter)

The Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, has discharged and acquitted a businessman, Jide Omokore and his firms, Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Limited, of alleged $1.6 billion fraud.

Omokore and his firmswere arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside a former Managing Director of Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) a subsidiaryof the NNPC, Victor Briggs, an ex-Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production, at NNPC, Abiye Membere and David Mbanefo in July 2016, on a nine-count amended charge of criminal diversion of about 1.6 billion.

Specifically, the EFCC said the $1.6bn was part of proceeds of the sale of petroleum products belonging to the Federal Government of Nigeria under the Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA) entered with the then Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) during the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

The offences were contrary to section 1 (1) (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act and punishment under section 1(3) of the same Act.

Delivering its judgment on Tuesday, the court discharged and acquitted Omokore but found Briggs and Membere guilty of corruption and convicted the duo for accepting gifts of Mercedes Benz and Range Rover cars from Omokore.

They were however discharged and acquitted on other charges brought against them.

Justice Dimgba thereaffter ordered that Briggs and Membere be remanded in the custody of the EFCC pending their sentencing scheduled for February 8, 2023.