Kawu Modibbo Cleared of N2.5bn DSO Project Fraud Charges After 6-Year Legal Battle

Editor February 13, 2025 in Law, News Tagged ICPC, Modibbo Kawu, NBC - 1 Minute

Mallam Ishaq Kawu Modibbo, the former Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), has been acquitted of allegations related to the ₦2.5 billion Digital Switch Over (DSO) project. This comes after a six-year legal battle with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences (ICPC).

Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court Abuja delivered the judgement, stating that the ICPC failed to prove the allegations against Kawu Modibbo and Pinnacle Communications Limited.¹ The judge noted that the witnesses’ statements and evidence did not link the defendants to the charges, and some witnesses even contradicted themselves.

The ICPC had prosecuted Kawu Modibbo and Pinnacle Communications on a five-count amended charge, alleging that they mismanaged ₦2.5 billion released for the DSO project under the approval of former Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed. However, the court found that the witnesses’ claims that Lai Mohammed was misled into approving the payment lacked documentary evidence.

Editor

Ibrahim Sheriff is the Editor of Fresh Insight, an Academia and former Special Assistant on Media to the Speaker, Kwara state House of Assembly. Although a management science researcher by training, he has over a decade experience of practice in Journalism, Public Relations and Communication Strategy. Sheriff holds a Masters Degree in Finance and Bachelors Degree in Banking and Finance from Kwara state University, Malete. He has Certificates in Digital Journalism, Enterprise Creation and Skill Acquisition (ECSA) and Basic Econometrics Data Analysis, as well as Bank of Industry (BoI) Certificate in Business Management. He is also a holder of Diploma in Cooperative Studies from Kwara state Polytechnic, Ilorin and currently a PhD candidate at the Kwara state University, Malete.

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