A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, has discharged and acquitted Former minister of Interior, Senator Abba Moro in respect of the fraud charges arising from the conduct of the botched Nigerian Immigration Service recruitment in 2014.

The judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, who had, in 2020 quashed seven out of the eleven count charge against Senator Morro and his co-defendants following a no case submission, exonerated the former minister in the remaining 4 counts.

Delivering judgment, Justice Dimgba found the 2nd defendant, a former Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs. Anastasia Daniel-Nwobia guilty on count 4 of the charge, which the court held, carries maximum jail term of 5 years without an option of fine.

The judge thereafter, deferred sentencing of Mrs Daniel-Nwobia to April 27, while he discharged the 3rd defendant, a deputy director in the ministry, Femi Alayebami of Counts 2, 4, 5 and 11.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had in 2016 arraigned Senator Abba Moro, who is now a Senator representing Benue south and others on an 11 count charge, bordering on allegations of obtaining money by pretext, procurement fraud and money laundering.

The EFCC also accused the defendants of defrauding over 600,000 Nigerian applicants of N6.7M, where each of the applicants were charged N1,000 each for participating in the recruitment exercise in 2014.

An exercise that later resulted in a stampede which left about 20 people dead.