EFCC Chairman Olanipekun Olukoyede.
As the whereabouts of former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, remain unknown a week after he was declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and placed on a watch-list by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the anti-graft agency has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja to withdraw the appeal it filed to set aside the interim injunction that barred it from arresting Bello for trial.
The EFCC, in its notice of discontinuance dated April 22, said its decision to terminate further proceedings on the appeal, was because the initial order a Kogi State High Court made in favour of the former governor, has been overtaken by events.
Besides, the Commission admitted that the appeal it brought against the said interim order, was filed outside the time allowed by the law.
The process, which EFCC filed before the appellate court, on Wednesday, read: The Appellant herein intends to and do hereby wholly withdraw her appeal against the respondent in the above-mentioned appeal.
This notice of withdrawal is predicated on the fact that on April 17, 2024, the application filed by the appellant herein was overtaken by the decision of the same high court of Kogi State in the case of Alhaji Yahaya Bello Vs EFCC- Suit No: HCL/68m/2024, per A. I. Jamil.
It will be recalled that the embattled former governor had in a bid to stop his arrest, run before the Kogi State High Court to enforce his fundamental rights. The court, in a ruling it delivered on February 9, issued an interim order that restrained the EFCC from inviting, arresting, or prosecuting the applicant over the subject matter of the charge against him, pending the determination of the suit.
Though the EFCC filed an appeal to set aside the interim order, the court, on April 17, delivered its judgment on Bellos substantive suit. Specifically, Justice Abdullahi said the agency must not move against the applicant in respect of the charge, without the express permission of the Federal High Court.
The judgment came on a day the Federal High Court in Abuja issued an order of arrest against the former governor.
However, an effort by the EFCC to execute the arrest warrant was thwarted by the incumbent governor of Kogi, Usman Ododo, who allegedly smuggled his predecessor away from his Abuja residence in his official vehicle.
Bello is facing a 19-count charge bordering on his alleged complicity in money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of about N80.2 billion.
Justice Emeka Nwite had fixed May 10 to rule on an application the former governor filed to challenge the warrant of arrest that was issued against him.
In defence of Bello, hundreds of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) took to the streets in Lagos State yesterday to protest his continued disrespect for the rule of law and undue harassment of a citizen of Nigeria.
The activists condemned the fact that the EFCC chairman failed to provide any documentary evidence of an official invitation sent to Bello, yet declared him wanted and had subjected him to unprecedented and reckless media trials despite a subsisting court order, which protected him at the time they laid a siege on his residence.
The movement, led by the chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), Debo Adeniran, addressing a press conference before staging a protest rally, said EFCC had thrown away professionalism and playing to the gallery daily without any legal substance other than the threats and application of brute state force, irrespective of what the court says.
The activists lambasted the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, saying his pronouncement on Tuesday, where he admitted, in an interview with journalists in Abuja, that he put a call through to the former governor, was clear evidence that EFCC did not formally invite Bello regarding the accusation.
A bad order or ruling or injunction or even judgment can be vacated, appealed, and upturned on the merit of the case by a superior court. But, until that is done, the subsisting order or ruling must be respected and obeyed. As of 8:00 a.m. when they laid siege last week, which everyone watched live, that interim order was still subsisting.
In essence, the EFCC has not only disobeyed a lawful court order but has broken it and, therefore, stands in contempt and must be treated as such. The continuing threats of violence in apprehending the former governor are uncalled for. All that is needed is to vacate your restraining order and invite the man. If he doesnt show up, at that point, you can get him arrested. But as of the time of the siege, no formal invitation had been extended to him, the CSOs added.
However, another rights group, the Global Society for Anti-Corruption (GSAC), has asked Bello to submit himself for trial over allegations of corruption, saying that his actions over his invitation by EFCC were a mockery of the laws of the country.
Bello has hidden himself from the EFCC and court over fraud allegations and money laundering leveled against him by the anti-graft agency. He had since resorted to issuing statements from his hideouts challenging the mode of his invitation and criticising the action of the agency.
Reacting to the development, yesterday, the president of GSAC, Frank Ezeona, deplored the action of the former governor, explaining that he had carried on as if he was above the law and untouchable.
Ezeona said: We condemn in very strong terms the evasion of justice by the former governor. It is a bad development for some of our elders to abuse the process of the judiciary. We support the EFCC and the Federal Government to stop all these chickens that lay the bad eggs. A trial is not a death sentence.
If he feels he is innocent, he should go and prove it. He cannot prove his innocence by running around the court to obtain orders. Nobody is above the law. In other Western climes, every individual subjects himself to trial if he is innocent. He should accept to face his prosecution and allow the court to clear him and stop this mockery of the law of the country.
He also asked the judiciary not to support clandestine moves by individuals in the country to mock the law, saying that our laws are meant for justice and not for injustice.
MEANWHILE, the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, yesterday, handed over 14 recovered assets to Governor Peter Mba of Enugu State. During the handing over ceremony held at the EFCC Headquarters, Jabi, Abuja, Olukoyede revealed that the assets recovered by the Commission were forfeited to the Federal Government.
He added that the EFCC began an investigation into the development in 2007 and had achieved the conviction of persons concerning the matter. He also noted that the President, Bola Tinubu, ordered the handover of the assets, which includes “ real estate, radio and television transmission equipment, and medical facility, among others, to the Enugu State government, following a request by the EFCC.
The EFCC boss, who did not disclose the identities of the owners of the properties before forfeiture, said the EFCC has been managing the properties since forfeiture.
This shows that governance can work in Nigeria. Our people deserve the benefits of good governance and that is what has been evidenced here, Olukoyede said.
If you look at the history of this case, it goes as far back as 2007. We started with the prosecution. So, we are looking at over 17 years in the journey. Some of the properties forfeited have been managed by the EFCC since then.
Mbah said the properties would be used for the benefit of the people of the state. First of all, this is good. We must emphasise strongly the importance of the event you have just witnessed. This is a very significant milestone that we have achieved here, the governor said.
A journey that, as you know, started over 17 years ago, and now its come to an end by the assets that were forfeited to the federal government is now being handed over to Enugu states for the use and benefit of the people of the state. Those are the rightful owners of the assets.
In terms of detailing, as the chairman said, there are 14 properties that have been handed over today to the government and people of Enugu.
In 2015, a federal high court in Lagos convicted four companies of Chimaroke Nnamani, former governor of Enugu, who served from 1999 to 2007 and ordered their forfeiture to the Federal Government.
The four companies are Rainbownet Nigeria Limited, Cosmos FM, Capital City Automobile Nigeria Limited and Renaissance University Teaching Hospital. The companies had on May 19, 2015, pleaded guilty to a 10-count amended charge brought against them by the EFCC.
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