The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, asked Justice Ahmed R. Mohammed of the Federal High Court to strike
out a fundamental rights suit brought by Andrew Yakubu, former Group
Managing Director, GMD, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC,
against the Commission for lack of jurisdiction.
Operatives of the EFCC had on February 3, 2017, stormed a building
belonging to the former NNPC boss and recovered a staggering sum of
$9,772,000 (Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy Two Thousand United
States Dollars) and £74,000 (Seventy Four Thousand Pound Sterling) stashed
in a huge fire proof safe following which he reported to the Commission’s
Kano Zonal Office on February 8, 2017 and admitted being the owner of both
the house and the money recovered.
In a dramatic turn, Yakubu, in a suit filed through his counsel, Ahmed
Raji, SAN, is challenging his detention since February 8 and demanding the
enforcement of his right to dignity of person, personal liberty, fair
hearing, freedom of movement, private and family life and to acquire own
property.
Aside praying the court to shield him from further investigation by the
EFCC, he is also demanding a sum of N1billion as cost against EFCC and
Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, who is the second respondent, for
the violation of his aforementioned rights.
Raji, while adopting his written address urged the court to grant all the
reliefs sought by the Applicant (Yakubu). He stated that “the sum total of
the relief sought by the respondent is the release of the
Applicant/Respondent as the investigation is still going on”.
Though, Raji admitted that the EFCC can investigate anybody, he, however,
said such should not be an excuse for unwarranted detention especially in a
situation where at the end of trial the person may not go to jail.
Raji also told the court that he was not aware of Exhibit EFCC 4 (order
from Magistrate Court in Kano), adding that the Applicant/Respondent has
not been brought to the court or any court of law. He submitted that “the
exhibit is irregular and constitute a gross abuse of the proceedings of
this court”.
In his preliminary objection, Johnson A Ojogbane, Counsel to EFCC told the
court that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit. He argued that “all the
facts relevant to the Applicant/Respondent’s application took place in Kano
State which is outside the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court Abuja”.
“It is not in doubt that, the acts leading to this action filed by the
Applicant/Respondent all occurred in Kano. He was never invited to the
Commission’s Head Office in Abuja and never came to Abuja in respect of the
instant case. In view of this, the Federal High Court lacks territorial
jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter as the court must have both
subject matter and territorial jurisdiction to entertain a case,” Ojogbane
argued.
On the Applicant’s prayer for human rights enforcement, Ojogbane argued
that “the application is incompetent, incurably defective and therefore
robs this honourable court of the jurisdiction to determine the suit.”
He went on to add that the detention warrant that authorised the detention
of the Applicant/Respondent was obtained in Kano State as the EFCC is
investigating the allegations leveled against the former NNPC boss.
On the other hand, the AGF, represented by T. A. Gazali brought an
application asking the court for more time to regularize .