The Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has discharged and acquitted two lawyers, Tom Awhana and Paul Okoro, on all 19 counts of conspiracy and stealing filed against them by the Federal Government.

The court found that prosecutors failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Justice M.A. Dada held that the prosecution could not present credible evidence showing that the two men had conspired to steal or misappropriate funds belonging to Mogbeyi Sagay & Co.

The lawyers had been charged over allegations that between 2012 and 2013, they conspired to divert N3.66 million from the firm.

Paul Okoro faced a single count tied directly to that sum, while Tom Awhana was accused in 17 additional counts involving separate amounts allegedly taken at different times.

During proceedings, the prosecution presented several witnesses, among them a compliance officer from Heritage Bank, who verified that the account documents and statements obtained by the EFCC were authentic.

The officer confirmed that Tom Awhana was listed as a signatory on the relevant account, but conceded under cross-examination that the bank had no way of tracking what the deposits and withdrawals were actually used for, since it simply acted on instructions from the account holder.

He also confirmed that Paul Okoro’s name was not attached to the account as a signatory.

The court also heard that after the firm’s founder passed away, new accounts were created to keep the law firm’s finances separate from the estate of the deceased.

Testimony showed that the estate administrators had given Tom Awhana, in his capacity as Head of Chambers, responsibility for managing the firm’s daily operations during that period of transition.

After reviewing all the evidence, Justice Dada ruled on June 4, 2026, that the prosecution had failed to point to any specific funds that were stolen or to show how the amounts listed in the charges were arrived at.

She noted that no account reconciliation was tendered to back up the allegations, and that prosecutors did not separate out legitimate expenses, such as salaries and profit-sharing agreements, from the funds they claimed had been misappropriated.

The judge further pointed out that one of the prosecution’s own witnesses had admitted that no actual shortfall in funds was ever confirmed, and that the case largely rested on suspicion drawn from financial activity linked to running the firm after the founder’s death.

Citing the constitutional guarantee that an accused person remains innocent until proven guilty, Justice Dada stressed that suspicion alone, however compelling, cannot substitute for proof beyond reasonable doubt.

On that basis, the court struck out all 19 counts and discharged and acquitted both Tom Awhana and Paul Okoro, closing a protracted criminal case that had spanned several years.

Source: The Nation News