Court strikes out EFCC’s forfeiture application of $8.4m, N9.1bn linked to Patience Jonathan

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, Friday, struck out a forfeiture application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for the sum of $8. 435,789.84 million and N9.185, 327, 362 billion, allegedly linked to the former First Lady, Mr Patience Jonathan and six others.

The monies were said to be lodged in Skye Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Stabic-IBTC and First Bank Plc.
Respondents in the suit are Mrs. Jonathan, Globus Integrated Service Limited, Finchley Top Homes Limited, AM-PM Global Network Limited, Pagmat Oil and Gas Limited, and Magel Resort Limited and Esther Oba.

Trial judge, Justice Majisola Olatoregun, struck out the application, for being an abuse of court processes.

The court had earlier granted an exparte application by the EFCC, temporary forfeiting the said amount, after it ordered the Commission to file an affidavit showing that the said sums were not subject of litigation before another court.

Striking out this suit, Justice Olatoregun stated that the anti-granft agency had not show enough evidence to indicate that matter before her court wss not subject to litigation before any other court.

The judge also berated EFCC for being in the habit of carrying out media trial against suspects rather than do justice to accused persons and the society.

She also criticised EFCC’s act of forum shopping, running from one court to another, in order to denigrate and malign suspects without putting their acts together.

The judge held that it was an abuse of court process to file similar cases such as the one before her in different divisions of the Federal High Court as the EFCC did before Justice Nyako, herself and Justice Tsoho of Abuja and Lagos Divisions of the same Federal High Court.

The court held that fighting corruption does not equate to not respecting citizens rights.
She consequently, struck out the EFCC’s application for being abuse of court processes.
Before the court’s ruling, Mrs. Jonathan, through her lawyers, Mr. Ifedayo Adedipe and Mr. Mike Ozekhomeh, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, had urged the court to dismiss the EFCC’s application against their clients, for being abuse of court processes.

At one of the days of the hearing of the matter, the two Senior lawyers told the court that the EFCC had filed similar application before a Federal High Court, Abuja, which is yet to be determined, before the application of the same matter and subject matter was filed before present the court.

However, the EFCC through its lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo had told the court that his employer, EFCC,had filed a notice on discontinuation on the case before Justice Binta Nyanko.

- Vanguard ng