Court Acquits Former Minister Stella Oduah of N2.5bn Fraud Charges After Government Settlement

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court located in Maitama, Abuja, has ruled in favor of former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, and her co- defendant, by dismissing fraud charges involving N2.5 billion. This decision follows a settlement reached with the Nigerian government.

The ruling was delivered after Rotimi Oyedepo, the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), informed the court that the defendants had returned the funds alleged to have been misappropriated.

Mr. Oyedepo stated that the federal government has confirmed receiving the amount related to the charges from Oduah and her co-defendant, Gloria Odita. "I have been instructed by the Attorney-General of the Federation to announce that the state acknowledges receipt of the sum implicated in this charge," he noted, although he did not specify the amount.

He urged the court to dismiss the charges against both defendants, a request that was endorsed by their legal representatives. The presiding judge, Hamza Muazu, granted the request, declaring, "The charge relating to the former minister and her co-defendant, dated October 13, 2025, is hereby struck out, and the defendants are discharged."

While acquitting Oduah and Odita, the judge convicted two corporate entities associated with the fraudulent activities, mandating them to reimburse the federal government to the tune of N1.2 billion.

Additionally, the judge ordered the confiscation of N780 million, which had been seized by law enforcement during the investigation.

These measures, including the restitution order and the companies' conviction, were part of the agreed-upon settlement. The developments on Thursday marked the conclusion of discussions between the involved parties, which had delayed the trial since the defendants were arraigned in December of the previous year.

During the February proceedings, Mr. Oyedepo had first disclosed the ongoing settlement negotiations between the prosecution and the defendants. He refrained from revealing details at that time but mentioned that Oduah had filed an application in accordance with Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, concerning plea bargaining in Nigeria’s judicial process.

On March 5, Mr. Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), informed the judge that both Oduah and Odita had embarked on restitution efforts. This came around three months post their arraignment for five charges concerning N2.5 billion in fraudulent activities.

The prosecution alleged that the defendants had illicitly acquired N2.5 billion from the Ministry of Aviation under the guise of costs for technical supervision and security services.

The charges indicated that these offenses were committed in January 2014, shortly before Oduah was ousted from her position amid a procurement controversy.

Oduah, who served as the Minister of Aviation from July 2, 2011, until February 12, 2014, under former President Goodluck Jonathan, later represented the Anambra North Senatorial District for two terms from 2015 to 2023.

These charges stemmed from the provisions of sections 8(a) and 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006, with penalties outlined under Section 1(3) of the same Act. One specific count accused Oduah and Odita of receiving N2.5 billion (or ₦2,469,030,738.9) from the Ministry of Aviation via Broad Waters Resource Nigeria Limited and Global Offshore Marine Limited through fraudulent representation.

Furthermore, it was claimed that the defendants knowingly portrayed the funds as payments for “costs of technical supervision and security as well as logistics support services” when they were, in fact, not.

Both defendants had denied the allegations of fraud.

In the proceedings on Thursday, Mr. Oyedepo notified the court about new, revised charges that excluded Oduah and Odita, making the two companies the sole defendants.

Lawyers representing the defense, Onyechi Ikpeazu and Wale Balogun, both SANs, acknowledged this change but contended against the defendants representing the companies in court. However, Mr. Oyedepo maintained that the defendants were predominantly in control of the companies during the investigation and should thus represent the firms in court.

The defense asserted that company representatives were present to enter pleas on their behalf. After considering the arguments, the judge clarified that the court records would omit any convictions against Oduah and Odita, only noting their pleas for the companies.

He suggested that if no consensus was reached, legal counsel should further engage with the AGF.

Subsequently, the agreement was reached during a recess, absolving Oduah and Odita's names from the records. Oduah, as a representative of the firms, ultimately pleaded guilty to two revised counts of fraud attributed to the companies, leading to a ruling of guilt against them.

In particular, Sobora International Limited was alleged to have illicitly obtained N838 million in 2015, believed to have been unlawfully acquired from the Ministry of Aviation through ISEC Security Maintenance Limited. Similarly, Global Offshore Marine Limited was found in possession of N1.629 billion that was also deemed illicitly acquired from the same security firm.

This situation has its roots in an earlier investigation conducted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which scrutinized Oduah regarding fraudulent activities connected to a ₦9.4 billion ISEC contract for airport security enhancements in 2018.