In a significant legal victory, the Federal High Court in Lagos has discharged and acquitted former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, of all charges in the high-profile ₦2.2 billion money laundering case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Delivering the ruling on Tuesday morning, the court upheld Fayose’s no-case submission, declaring that the EFCC failed to establish a prima facie case that would require the defendant to enter a defence.
“The prosecution failed to link the defendant to the alleged crimes in a manner that warrants this court to call upon him to open his defence,” the judge stated in the landmark judgment.
Fayose had been standing trial for several years, accused of laundering billions of naira and mismanaging public funds during his tenure as governor of Ekiti State between 2014 and 2018.
However, the court held that the prosecution did not provide sufficient or credible evidence to tie the former governor directly to the alleged financial infractions.
Legal analysts say the ruling marks a critical test for the EFCC’s prosecutorial strength in high-profile corruption cases.
Earlier in the proceedings, the court had granted Fayose permission to travel abroad for medical treatment — a separate application that drew public attention.
With this ruling, Fayose walks free of all charges, bringing an end to a prolonged legal battle that has lingered in Nigeria’s judicial system for nearly a decade.
