By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja
The Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, barred the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) from inviting, harassing and threatening to arrest or detain Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, for criticising its former Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu.
Giving judgement in a fundamental right enforcement suit filed by Ozekhome, the court held that the constant harassments by the anti-graft agency were illegal, unlawful, wrongful, unconstitutional.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, held that the action of the agency constituted a blatant violation of the Applicant’s fundamental rights.
He premised the judgement on Sections 35, 37, 39 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and Articles 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 & 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Ratification and Enforcement Act, Cap. A9 LFN 2004.
The suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/324/2018, mentioned EFCC, Magu and one of its lead operatives, Abubakar Aliyu Madaki, as 1st to 3rd respondents.
Ozekhome had in the suit, told the court that EFCC had continued to harrass him for being a vocal critic of the lopsided nature of President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war led by Magu.
He told the court that aside from repeatedly summoning him to appear for questioning, the agency, froze his bank account after he was paid his legal fees totalling the sum of N75million, by the former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose.
Ozekhome maintained that one of the reasons the EFCC made him its primary target, was due to the fact that he secured so many legal victories against it in various hierachies of courts in the country.
He told the court that threats from the Respondents was to shut him up from further criticisms of “the despicable and unjust manner of their fight against corruption in Nigeria”.
He further claimed that the account from which the N75m was paid to him, belonged to the former governor of Ekiti State, Fayose, who he said had not been convicted by any court to warrant labelling the money as proceed of crime.
Ozekhome averred that it took the intervention of the Federal High Court in Lagos to unfreeze his bank account.
Consequently, he prayed the court to among other things, declare that he was entitled to receive legal fees for professional services he rendered to clients, including to Fayose.
The Applicant further asked the court to compel the Respondents to publish unreserved apology to him in three prominent dailies for the breach of his right.
Concluding, the senior lawyer prayed for for an order of the court directing the Respondents to jointly and severally pay the sum of N5billion to him as examplary damages for wanting violation of his rights.
However, the EFCC, in a counter-affidavit deposed to by one of its operatives, Usman Aliyu, urged the court to dismiss the suit.
It submitted that Ozekhome was being investigated for a lot of cases bordering on money laundering and tax evasion, based on intelligence report from the Nigeria Financial Intelligent Unit, NFIU.
It told the court that the Ozekhome received various sums of money at different times from DAAR Investment & Holding Company Limited, Ekiti State Government and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, without payment of taxes due to both the Federal and Ekiti state governments.
The agency continued that further investigation revealed an attempt by wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, to launder money through the Applicant in the sum of N1billion.
Delivering judgement in the matter, yesterday, Justice Ekwo said he was satisfied that Ozekhome established a case of intimidation and harassments by the Respondents(EFCC).
He held that though the court would always restrain itself from interfering with the functions of statutory bodies like the EFCC, “but that is only in so far as such agency is demonstrably shown to be acting pursuant to the veritable spirit of the law.’’
However, the court declined to either award damages in his favour or compel EFCC to apologize to him.
