A Federal High Court in Abuja has discharged and acquitted AA Oil Chairman Aliyu Abubakar, Malabu Oil and Gas Limited and other companies in two separate money laundering cases instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Inyang Ekwo delivered the rulings on Thursday, faulting the prosecution’s case on the grounds that its evidence and charges were fundamentally defective, failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt and contravened an earlier directive issued by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

One of the cases, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/31/17, involved former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, and Abubakar, who were arraigned on an amended 14-count charge bordering on money laundering.

Both defendants had pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them, leading to the commencement of trial. Adoke was subsequently discharged by the court.

During the proceedings, the court had ruled that the prosecution established a prima facie case against Abubakar on counts five, six, eight and nine, dismissing his no-case submission on those charges.

The latest ruling also affects a separate case, FHC/ABJ/CR/268/16, in which the EFCC accused Malabu Oil and Gas Limited, A-Group Construction Company Limited, Rocky Top Resources Limited, Mega Tech Engineering Limited, Novel Properties and Development Company Limited, Carlin International Nigeria Limited and Abubakar, among others, of money laundering and conspiracy.

The cases formed part of the EFCC’s longstanding prosecution relating to alleged financial misconduct involving the defendants.