Nwaoboshi Onyeluka Peter

Peter Onyeluka Nwaoboshi (29 June 1958 – 19 December 2025) was a Nigerian politician who served as the senator representing Delta North senatorial district in the Nigerian Senate from 2015 to 2023. He was sacked shortly after being announced senator-elect during the 2019 general elections by a Federal High Court in Abuja following allegations that he was not validly elected by his political party. The Appeal Court overturned the decision on 30 May 2019, holding that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction over the case.

Peter Nwaoboshi was born in 1958 in Delta State, Nigeria. He attended St. Thomas Teachers College, where he obtained his West African School Certificate in 1976. In 1986, he graduated from the University of Benin with a Bachelor of Laws and later earned a Master of Laws from Delta State University.

Nwaoboshi began his career in 1979 as an aide to Samuel Ogbemudia, Governor of the defunct Bendel State. He was subsequently appointed chairman of the Nigerian Railway Corporation. In 1999, he served as a political adviser to Governor James Ibori. From 2000 to 2006, he was Commissioner for Agriculture and Special Duties in Delta State.

In 2008, he was appointed State Chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, serving for a second term in 2012. In 2014, he resigned from the PDP to run for Senate. He was elected into office as a Senator representing Delta North senatorial district in the National Assembly in 2015 and was appointed Chairman of the Senate committee on Niger Delta.

In 2019, he was re-elected into the Senate under the PDP. On 23 June 2021, the Delta State PDP suspended Nwaoboshi for 'anti-party activities' after a public spat with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. He called the suspension 'laughable' and 'illegal,' later leaving the PDP and joining the APC at a meeting with President Buhari and Delta Central Senator Ovie Omo-Agege. This was reportedly in preparation for a run for Deputy Governor of Delta State.

On 3 April 2019, a Federal High Court in Abuja sacked Nwaoboshi as Senator-elect for Delta North senatorial district, citing allegations that he was not validly nominated in the party primaries. Justice Ahmed Mohammed ordered him to stop parading himself as Senator-elect. Prince Ned Nwoko, his opponent in the primaries, alleged that Nwaoboshi had unlawfully declared himself the winner and hired thugs to cause a mass scare during his defeat.

On 4 April 2019, Nwaoboshi appealed the decision. On 17 April 2019, the Federal High Court denied his appeal to issue a restraining order against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stating it was out of jurisdiction. Justice Mahmud Mohammed ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Nwaoboshi and reissue one to Prince Ned Nwoko. On 11 May 2019, INEC withdrew Nwaoboshi’s certificate of return, which was later reinstated after the Appeal Court overturned the Federal High Court’s decision.

In 2016, Nwaoboshi sponsored the Code of Conduct Act (Amendment) Bill, 2016 (SB 248), which passed its first reading but was never implemented. In April 2018, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged him with fraud and money laundering, alleging that his companies bought a Lagos building for ₦805 million in 2014 with ₦322 million of the payment used illegally. He denied the claims and pleaded not guilty.

In June 2021, Nwaoboshi was cleared of the fraud and money laundering charges after Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke ruled that the EFCC failed to prove the allegations and relied on hearsay. The EFCC stated it would appeal the decision. In April 2016, Sahara Reporters accused him of acquiring a Lagos property under suspicious circumstances and failing to disclose it legally, amid his sponsorship of an amendment to weaken anti-corruption laws.

In June 2019, charges were filed against Nwaoboshi for failing to declare his true assets after an investigation by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel (SPIP), which accused him of not disclosing ownership of three Sterling Bank accounts. In July 2018, SPIP temporarily sealed several of his assets, including up to 14 properties and 22 bank accounts.

In June 2020, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) accused Nwaoboshi of using 11 front companies to defraud the Commission out of ₦3.6 billion worth of contracts in 2016. The accusation came amid a wider spat with Niger Delta Minister Godswill Akpabio. NDDC spokesperson Charles Odili termed it the 'biggest single case of looting of the commission’s resources.'

On 1 July 2022, the Court of Appeal found Nwaoboshi guilty of money laundering and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment alongside two of his companies, Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd. This followed an appeal by the EFCC, which dismissed the submission that Nwaoboshi had not committed the crime.

Peter Nwaoboshi died after a short illness on 19 December 2025, aged 67.