A Federal Capital Territory High Court has discharged and acquitted former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, of N2.5 billion fraud charges following a settlement with the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The decision came after a report by Rotimi Oyedepo confirmed that the funds at the centre of the allegations had been refunded by the defendants.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Hamza Muazu struck out the charges and formally discharged Oduah and her co-defendant.
However, the court convicted two companies—Sobora International Limited and Global Offshore Marine Limited—through which the alleged fraud was carried out.
The companies were ordered to pay restitution totaling N1.2 billion to the government and forfeit an additional N780 million recovered during the investigation.
The charges were based on allegations that the defendants fraudulently obtained N2.5 billion from the Ministry of Aviation between January and February 2014 under the guise of payments for technical supervision, security, and logistics services.
The case was handled under the plea-bargaining provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, following months of settlement negotiations that delayed proceedings after the defendants were arraigned in December 2025.
Oduah served as Minister of Aviation from 2011 to 2014 under former President Goodluck Jonathan and later represented Anambra North Senatorial District in the National Assembly from 2015 to 2023.
