Nigeria, March 14 -- Nearly six years after he was accused of stealing N20 million belonging to the Akwa Ibom State judiciary, an accountant with the state judiciary, Iniobong Essien, has been discharged and acquitted by a State High Court in Uyo.
Delivering judgement on 18 February, Justice Bassey Nkanang ruled that the prosecution failed to establish that Mr Essien fraudulently took the money, according to a report published by Crystal Express, a newspaper in Akwa Ibom.
The judge ruled that suspicion and administrative negligence cannot serve as substitutes for proof of criminal intent.
Mr Essien, an accountant II with the state judiciary, had faced a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing in connection with the theft of N20 milli...