Ojulari temporary escapes sack as Abuja court gives him 14 days to defend self

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer CEO of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited, Alhaji Bayo Ojulari has temporarily escaped being sacked by an Abuja High Court.

This is because the court has given him 14 days to show cause why the injunction seeking to order the President to suspend him and compel the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prosecute him over alleged money laundering and assets violation should not be granted.

The Abuja High Court commenced hearing into an injunction seeking to order President Tinubu to suspend Ojulari and to order the EFCC to investigate and prosecute him, giving him 14 days to defend himself or risk suspension.

Ojulari may however not have been left off the hook as the Abuja High Court has given him 14 days to show cause why an order seeking to order President Tinubu to suspend him from office, and order EFCC to prosecute him over money laundering, should not be made.

The Abuja High Court issuef an order for the speedy hearing of a suit seeking to sack Ojulari from office, as well as an order for the EFCC to investigate and prosecute him over alleged money laundering and non-asset declaration.

The court gave him two weeks to show why the order should not be made.

Ojulari had, on Friday, narrowly escaped being suspended from office at the resumed hearing of the suit filed at the Abuja High Court, where the plaintiff, an anti-corruption campaign organisation, is seeking an order of the Court to order the President to suspend him from office and appoint an interim GCEO pending the conclusion of the investigation.

They are also asking the Court to refer him to EFCC for investigation, arrest, and prosecution.

At the hearing, which was presided over by Justice Madugu, the plaintiff moved their ex parte application seeking an immediate injunction to bar Ojulari from parading himself as GCEO pending the conclusion of the suit and for the President to appoint an acting GCEO until the case of alleged money laundering and violation of assets declaration against him is concluded.

The plaintiff also sought an accelerated hearing to expedite the conclusion of the case and to permit service by substituted means.

The judge, in his ruling, granted the order for a speedy and accelerated hearing for the immediate determination of the suit, as well as for the use of substituted means of service.

The judge, ruling on the ex parte application, ordered that Ojulari to be given a 14-day grace period to provide cogent reasons why the order seeking to suspend him from office and refer him to the EFCC for proper investigation, arrest, and prosecution over allegations of money laundering and other financial crimes should not be granted.

The judge, while adjourning the matter for the final hearing, ordered Ojulari, to file his defence within the next 14 days, which is just remaining 10 days now, to show why the Court should not grant the plaintiff’s prayers that he should be restrained from parading himself as GCEO of the NNPCL until the investigation is concluded to avoid obstruction.

It will be recalled that a few weeks ago, an anti-corruption crusade group, Civic Obligation, instituted an action at the Abuja High Court where it is seeking a detailed investigation by EFCC and other security agencies against the GCEO for alleged cases of money laundering, operation of foreign accounts, and non-asset declaration, etc.

The plaintiff argued that allowing Ojulari to remain in office would hamper the investigation; hence, the need to suspend him and for the President to appoint an acting GCEO pending the conclusion of the investigation.