The High Court of Lagos State, sitting as the Special Offences Court at Ikeja, has discharged and acquitted Tom Awhana and Paul Okoro, two former lawyers of the law firm of the late Mogbeyi Sagay SAN, on all 19 counts of conspiracy to steal and stealing preferred against them by the Federal Republic of Nigeria through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), after finding that the prosecution’s case was entirely based on suspicion, that the prosecution’s own witness admitted no money was alleged to be missing, that the prosecution failed to tie any of the specific sums in the 18 substantive counts to any particular infraction, and that the prosecution failed to separate the firm’s income from the defendants’ legitimate entitlements.
The judgment was delivered on Thursday, June 4, 2026, by Hon. Justice M.A. Dada (Mrs.) in Suit No. LD/9456C/19.
Justice Dada concluded the 126-page judgment with the exclamation: “What a waste of time and life!”
The Charges
The defendants were arraigned on 19 counts. Count 1 charged both defendants with conspiracy to steal contrary to Section 409 and punishable under Section 285(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011, alleging that they conspired between 2012 and 2013 to steal the sum of N3,660,000, property of Mogbeyi Sagay & Co.
Count 2 charged the 2nd Defendant alone with stealing the same sum. Counts 3 to 19 charged the 1st Defendant alone with stealing various sums at different times, all described as property of Mogbeyi Sagay & Co.
The Background
The case arose from the management of the law firm of the late Mogbeyi Sagay SAN, who died on February 28, 2012. After his death, the administration of his estate was entrusted to three administrators: Mrs Nneka Sagay, Mr Cliff Kokogho, and Mr Monima Lawson-Jack. Professor Itse Sagay SAN served as the firm’s long-time consultant.
The 1st Defendant, Tom Awhana, was a lawyer in the firm who was mandated by the administrators and Professor Sagay SAN to continue running the chambers as Head of Chambers after the principal’s death. The administrators issued a “To Whom It May Concern” letter dated November 20, 2015, stating: “Mr Tom Awhana is the Head of Chambers of Mogbeyi Sagay & Co. He is in charge of the day to day running of the law firm. Please extend to him all necessary assistance.” The letter was signed by all three administrators.
The 2nd Defendant, Paul Okoro, was also a lawyer in the firm but left in 2013 after the late SAN’s death.
The firm’s known bank accounts were at Access Bank and Zenith Bank. However, during the 1st Defendant’s tenure as Head of Chambers, two additional accounts were opened in the firm’s name at Heritage Bank and Union Bank, with the 1st Defendant as sole signatory on the Heritage Bank account and both defendants as signatories on the Union Bank account.
The dispute erupted in 2018 when a major client, Mr Babatunde Allen, visited the firm and mentioned that he had paid over N18 million to the firm, whereas only N5 million was reflected in the firm’s office account. An investigation revealed that approximately N16 million had cleared in the Heritage Bank account that the administrators did not know about. The administrators confronted the 1st Defendant, who initially denied the existence of additional accounts, then admitted opening them, claiming that “some clients who lured him to open it” and that it was a “Clients Account.”
The matter was referred to Professor Sagay SAN, who instructed that it be reported to the EFCC.
The Prosecution’s Case
The prosecution called seven witnesses, including bankers from Heritage Bank (PW1) and Union Bank (PW2) who produced account documentation, PW3 Chris Azubuike Okafor who authored the petition to the EFCC, and PW6 who was the firm’s former accountant and one of the administrators.
The prosecution’s case was that the defendants opened bank accounts in the firm’s name without authorisation and diverted monies belonging to the firm into those accounts for their personal use.
The Defence
The defendants argued that the accounts were opened with knowledge and for legitimate purposes. They contended that after the late SAN’s death and before the Letters of Administration were issued, certain clients’ monies needed to be kept separate from the estate, necessitating new accounts. The 1st Defendant argued that he used funds from the accounts to augment the running of the chambers, which the estate was struggling to sustain.
The defence also established that PW3 admitted lawyers in the firm were at some point permitted to do private practice even while earning salaries, and that the 1st Defendant was entitled to 12 per cent and the 2nd Defendant to 10 per cent of the firm’s profits under an existing agreement.
The Court’s Findings
Justice Dada’s judgment systematically dismantled the prosecution’s case on multiple grounds.
“The Entire Case Is Based on Suspicion”
The court made what it described as the most damaging finding against the prosecution: its own witness admitted that no money was actually alleged to be missing.
“As a matter of fact, the evidence of PW7 who tendered Exhibit P31 was that no money was alleged to be missing, but that the activities of the Defendants were suspicious and the reason for filing the action against them,” Justice Dada stated.
“It is therefore admitted by the Prosecution that the entirety of this case is based on suspicion which can never ground conviction no matter how presented,” the court held.
Failure to Tie Specific Sums to Specific Infractions
The court found that the prosecution failed to connect any of the specific amounts charged in the 19 counts to any proven act of theft.
“None of the specific sums in the 18 Counts has been tied to any particular infraction by any of the Defendants by separating same from clients’ monies, what the Defendants ought to have earned as salaries and interests as agreed with the Firm on specific profits of the Firm,” Justice Dada stated.
“It appears the court has been plunged into the dark to be groping for what it did not lose,” the judge added.
Failure to Separate Legitimate Entitlements from Alleged Theft
