EFCC case: Umeh wins at Supreme Court

Former acting president of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Chief Mike Umeh has been discharged and acquitted by the Supreme Court in the case of money laundering in which he was charged alongside former Sokoto State governor, Attahiru Bafarawa.

The Supreme Court in a judgment delivered by former Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Walter Onoghen on February 15, 2019 discharged and acquitted Chief Umeh on the allegations leveled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

We gathered that Umeh’s travails began in May 2013, when he was picked from his Lagos home by operatives of EFCC, following a warrant by a Sokoto High Court.

After several trips to Sokoto, detentions and trials, the case was heard at the Sokoto High Court, where the accused was first discharged and acquitted.

The EFCC and the Sokoto State Government appealed against the ruling and were also floored by Umeh at the Appeals Court.

After the Supreme Court judgment, Umeh, who was still basking in the euphoria of the victory said he was talking to his lawyers to look at the possibility of seeking redress for he had suffered monumental loss of funds, reputation and esteem in the eyes of the society.

“I m happy with the judgment. I have been vindicated and to God alone be the glory. As we speak, I m consulting with my lawyers and I may be seeking redress for all that I went through while the case lasted. I suffered a lot emotional, financially and my reputation was called to question. These are issues that may not just be swept under the carpet, now that my innocence has been proven by the Supreme Court,” Umeh said.