The wife of the former governor of Cross River State, Onari Duke, on Monday, lost her bid to send the former Vice-Principal of the American International School, Lagos, Ebele Mbanugo, to prison for allegedly stealing $110,267.57 from her non-governmental organisation.
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja acquitted and discharged Mbanugo of the three counts of stealing and fraudulent conversion that were preferred against her.
The prosecutor, K. O. Sarumi, had accused Mbanugo of defrauding Onari’s NGO, the Child Survival and Development Organisation of Nigeria, of the fund between September 2009 and October 2011.
The prosecutor alleged that the defendant misappropriated the money raised for the purpose of purchasing mammogram machines for the detection of breast cancer.
The offences, according to Sarumi, contravene sections 265(7) and 278(1) (b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
Mbanugo, however, during her testimony before the court, denied the allegations. Read more