The Supreme Court has ordered the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, to face probe in an alleged N96 billion fraud during his eight-year tenure as the governor of Rivers State.
The former governor and a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had approached the court asking it to stop the probe after the primary and appelate courts ruled against him.
The apex, on Friday, dismissed the petition filed by Amaechi seeking to stop the probe into the alleged N96 billion sale of assets belonging to Rivers State.
The listed valuable assets include Omoku Gas Turbine, Afam Gas Turbine, Trans Amadi Gas Turbine, Eleme Gas Turbine, Olympia Hotel, as well as the award of contract for execution of monorail project inn the state.
The current governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, had constituted a seven-man panel to probe Amaechi into the lawful, or otherwise, sales of the valuable assets of the state.
Reading the lead judgement on Friday, Justice Adamu Jauro held that Amaechi’s appeal lacked merit and dismissed it accordingly.
The court also fined the presidential aspirant N1 million.
The apex court, in a unanimous judgement by a five-man panel of Justices, ruled that there was no justification to stop the probe.
Earlier, Amaechi had lost the suit at the High Court of Rivers State and the Court of Appeal which prompted him to approach the Supreme Court.