From Segun Showunmi, Ibadan

An Oyo State High Court has cleared a contractor, Emmanuel Olulola, accused of embezzling money meant for School Feeding Project in the state.

The court also awarded N10 million damages against Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Daniel Nwafor, an associate of the accused person.

Olulola was arrested and detained by EFCC in 2019 on allegations of embezzling funds meant for the school feeding programme, a claim he denied.

He was later released on bail, but his accounts were frozen. He was required to report to the EFCC regularly.

Trouble began in 2017 when Olulola had an agreement with Nwafor to jointly front his company, Unified Support Global Services Limited, to bid for and win a contract to supply bread to schools in Oyo State under the Federal Government’s school feeding programme.

Olulola claimed he was the brain behind the project, but his partner, Nwafor, reported him to the authorities, alleging embezzlement.

Olulola was earlier arrested and detained by the police on November 25, 2018, and his car was impounded. He was bailed on the same day, but the ordeal had begun.

EFCC later got involved, and Olulola’s accounts were frozen. He was arrested again on October 20, 2019 and detained for four days before being released on bail.

The case dragged on for years, with Olulola’s lawyers, Kunle Faleti, fighting for his client’s fundamental rights, while Kolawole Ola was handling the criminal case.

The court held that the role of Nwafor’s company, Unified Support Global Services Limited, in the contract was limited to receiving payments and disbursing funds to Olulola for project execution.

Source: The Nation News