The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Lagos, seeking to overturn the acquittal of former NDDC Executive Director of Projects, Tuoyo Omatsuli, and three others over an alleged ₦3.6 billion fraud. The Notice of Appeal, filed on Thursday, April 9, 2026, challenges the ruling of Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which discharged and acquitted Omatsuli, Francis Momoh, Don Parker Properties Limited, and Building Associates Limited of 46 money laundering charges.
EFCC’s counsel, Ekene Iheanacho (SAN), anchored the appeal on seven grounds, urging the appellate court to set aside the lower court’s judgment and grant the reliefs sought by the Commission. The agency argued that Justice Osiagor erred in law and fact by allegedly failing to properly evaluate the evidence before the court, disregarding earlier Court of Appeal findings on key prosecution testimonies.
The case has a long history. Omatsuli was initially acquitted in 2020 at the no-case submission stage, while the other defendants were ordered to open their defense. Dissatisfied, the EFCC appealed, and the Court of Appeal directed that all defendants face trial. During the retrial, the prosecution presented 16 witnesses and 34 exhibits, yet the trial court cleared the defendants, ruling that the allegations were not sufficiently established.
In its appeal, the EFCC maintains that the funds, reportedly transferred by a contractor to Omatsuli via Building Associates Limited, were misappropriated instead of being used for youth-related projects in the Niger Delta. The Commission also highlighted alleged attempts to conceal the transactions and said the trial court ignored relevant anti-corruption laws, including the ICPC Act and the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.
As of now, no date has been fixed for the hearing of the appeal, as the EFCC continues to pursue accountability in one of the most high-profile NDDC fraud cases in recent years.