Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has urged a Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, presided by Justice Sadiq Abubakar Umar, to go ahead with the trial of former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai and two others, over alleged abuse of office.
The others charged alongside El-Rufai are Altine Jibrin, former Director-General of the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) and its former General Manager, Ismail Iro. They are being charged for illegal conversion of Plot 1201, a land meant for the building of a transmitting/injection sub-station for the PHCN in Asokoro.
They were also alleged to have conspired and converted Plot 3352 in Maitama, belonging to NIPOST, originally earmarked for the building of a district post office.
At the resumed hearing of the case, which was slated for address, counsel to EFCC, Adebayo Adelodun, (SAN), prayed the court to discountenance the application of no case submission by the accused persons and urged it to rule that they answer the charges preferred against them.
“Running through the entirety of the written address as well as the adumbration, it is a misconception on the part of the defence to suggest we have to prove anything at this stage.
This stage is whether a prima facie case has been made out and not to prove any ingredient of offences alleged. All that we are required to do at this stage is to link the accused persons with the charges, however tangible or remote.” Adelodun stated.
He urged the court to note that the Commission has placed before it all documentary and oral evidences which include the accused person’s statements and that the case before it is a case of some people who occupy public office to use such to gratify and or benefit themselves, their relations and friends.
On the argument by the defence that prosecution did not produce the master plan, Adelodun contented that prosecution need not produce such because its existence and content was never in doubt and has been admitted by the statement of the first accused.
“Besides, the ownership of these plots is not restricted to the master plan as exhibits 4 and 15 which are the allocation letters to PHCN and NIPOST respectively, from FCDA are there for all to see.”
The prosecution counsel further deflated the defence’s submission that it did not produce those that benefitted from the alleged allocation by stating that by tendering certificate of occupancies in respect of all the persons named as beneficiaries especially the 2ndand 3rd accused persons, prosecution has given the court necessary proof to arrive at its decision.
Earlier, counsel to the defence, Kanu Agabi (SAN) and Akin Olujimi (SAN) had in their different adumbrations canvassed for the quashing of the case on the ground that the prosecution has not proved any of the charges in evidence which according to them, were manifestly unreliable or discredited in cross –examination.
They had argued that the central allegation that the plots in contention were originally allocated to PHCN and NIPOST in the Abuja Master plan had been discredited by failure to produce the master plan and that plots were neither enumerated nor allocated in the master plan.
Agabi stated that EFCC having charged the accused persons with bestowing themselves with undue advantage of their offices has failed to produce those it claimed have been unfairly disadvantaged.
The judge has reserved ruling to a yet-to-be-determined date.
The former minister and his co-accused were first arraigned on May 12, 2010 and later re-arraigned on an amended eight- count charge on Thursday April 7, 2011.
Prosecution in a bid to prove a prima facie case against the accused have called several witnesses including Arch Enoch Adeyeye Ogun, the Deputy Post Master General of the Federation, Michael Chukwuma Okoye, a former Assistant Manager of the Power Holding company of Nigeria, Mr. Sunday Idowu, a former operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among others, all of whom have testified to several inconsistencies in the action of the former minister and his colleagues.
One of the counts read : “That you Mallam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai (M) between 13th day of December, 2003 and 14th of December, 2007 or thereabout at the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in the course of and or in the performance of your official duties as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory did use your said office and position to gratify and confer corrupt or unfair advantage on your relation, to wit, your wife Hadiza Ahmed El-Rufai by reallocating to her parts of the parcel of land known as plot No 1201, Asokoro District (A4) Abuja, originally allocated in the Federal Capital Territory Master plan to power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc for the construction of transmitting/ injection sub-stations which you fully and/or intentionally revoked for that purpose, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under section 19 of the Corrupt and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.