A Dhaka court today acquitted BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and seven others in connection with the Niko graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission in 2007.

Judge Md Rabiul Alam of the Special Judge's Court-4 of Dhaka pronounced the verdict.

Khaleda, currently in London for medical treatment, was represented by her lawyer Mohammad Ziauddin Zia.

In the judgment, the judge said the prosecution has failed to prove the charges brought against Khaleda Zia and others. So, they were acquitted of the charges, it said.

With this, Khaleda Zia was acquitted and discharged from all the cases, including Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases, filed against her during caretaker government in 2007 and Awami League government regime.

The seven others are BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman's close friend Giausuddin Al Mamun, former acting secretary for energy ministry Khondaker Shahidul Islam, former Dhaka Club president Selim Bhuiyan, former senior assistant secretary CM Yusuf Hussain, former principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, former general manager of Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX), Mir Moynul Haque, and former president of Niko Resources (Bangladesh) Limited Kashem Sharif.

Of them, Kamal, Moynul and Kashem are absconding while four others were present during the judgment.

Following the acquittal order, Khaleda's lawyer Masud Ahmed Talukder told the journalists that they finally got justice from the court. The case was filed against the BNP chairperson just to harass her politically.

On March 28 of 2022, Kashem Sharif was sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment for taking bribe from Niko, a Canadian Oil and Gas Exploration Company.

Earlier, the court recorded statements of 39 prosecution witnesses, including the complainant of the case.

On March 19 of 2023, the court framed charges against the 10 accused, including Khaleda Zia in the case.

On December 9 of 2007, the ACC filed the case, accusing Khaleda Zia and several others of abusing power to award a gas exploration and extraction deal to Canadian company Niko when she was prime minister between 2001 and 2006.

On May 5 of 2008, the ACC pressed charges against Khaleda Zia and 10 others.

The names of former state minister for energy and BNP leader AKM Mosharraf Hossain and former law minister Moudud Ahmed and former BAPEX secretary Shafiur Rahman were dropped from the charges of case as they died earlier.