Joseph Nwobike, a senior lawyer, was convicted and sentenced to 30 days in prison by the Supreme Court.
He was accused with perverting the course of justice.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, chaired by Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, criticised the judgment of the Lagos High Court and the Court of Appeal, Lagos, which confirmed the conviction in a unanimous ruling on Monday.
The Supreme Court noted that Section 97(c) of the Lagos State Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL), under which the Senior counsel was charged, did not properly define what constituted a perversion of justice.
The court also stated that the EFCC lacks the authority to investigate and punish the crime of perverting the course of justice.
It also found, among other reasons, that the Lagos High Court erred in convicting Nwobike on the charge.
In April 2018, Justice Raliat Adebiyi of the Lagos High Court convicted Joseph Nwobike, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The court had also sentenced the Senior Advocate to a jail term of 30 days after holding that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) proved beyond reasonable doubt that the SAN was in constant communication with some court officials to influence the assignment of his cases to preferred judges.
The Legal Practitioners Privileges Committees, LPPC had swiftly announced the suspension of the senior lawyer from using the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
The EFCC, through its counsel Rotimi Oyedepo had, among others, accused Nwobike of exchanging SMS with a court registrar on the assignment of his cases and when such cases should be heard.
At his trial, Mr Nwobike admitted sending messages to the court officials but denied that the intention was to influence the assignment and the outcome of his cases before certain judges of the court.
He also admitted that the N750,000 he gave to a judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Mohammed Yunusa was not a bribe but “for the specific purpose of helping the (sick) mother of the gentleman.”
The Senior Advocate filed a notice of appeal within hours of the ruling to fight his conviction.
He claimed that the ruling was arbitrary and unjustified, and that the EFCC had failed to establish the charges of perverting the course of justice.
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