Orubebe, Ademola, Patience… FG loses four cases in 96 hours

The federal government, via its agencies, has lost four legal battles in the past four days.

While the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lost two, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) lost one each.

The last of the cases is that of Patience Jonathan, former first lady. A federal high court sitting in Lagos unfroze her $5 million account in Skye Bank.

Adedayo Adedipe, her counsel, had urged the court to unfreeze the account on the grounds that Jonathan was not a party in the suit leading to the order made by the court.

EFCC, which initiated the suit leading to the order, did not file any response to the application filed to discharge the order, and Mojisola Olatoregun, the presiding judge, upheld the submission of Adedipe and discharged the order freezing the account.

EFCC’S CASE AGAINST OZEKHOME

In a landmark case, the EFCC prayed a federal high court in Lagos to order the temporary forfeiture of N75 million in the account of Mike Ozekhome, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

The anti-graft agency said this should be on the ground that the amount deposited in the said account on December 15, 2016, is suspected to be proceeds of crime.

Abdulaziz Anka, the judge, ordered that Ozekhome’s account with the sum of N75 million be forfeited for 120 days.

Ozekhome, who is one of the lawyers of Ayo Fayose, Ekiti state governor, had described the ruling as “insidious, odious and invidious and from the pit of hell”.

He said the EFCC had developed a complex for him after he defeated the agency five times.

On Monday — less than 120 days after the court order — Anka said the EFCC’s position does not hold water, and the forfeiture he initially ordered cannot be sustained.

The restriction on Ozekhome’s account was therefore lifted.

DSS HAS NO CASE AGAINST ADEMOLA AND WIFE

In October 2016, Adeniyi Ademola, was arrested alongside a number of other judges for corruption and possession of firearms. Ademola said he was arrested because he granted Sambo Dasuki bail and freed Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) leader.

The federal government charged Ademola to court, saying he received $520,000 as gratification from some law firms between 2013 and 2016.

The government claimed it had 14 witnesses  against the judge.

But in an interesting turn of events, Jude Okeke, the judge presiding over the case, declared Ademola not guilty on an 18-count charge of corruption and illegal possession of firearm brought against him.

Okeke in his ruling on the no-case submission of the defendants, held that the prosecution did not adduce enough evidence to warrant the defendants to enter defence.

He said the prosecution did not establish a prima facie case against the defendants, and held that no iota of evidence to prove that the defendants were guilty of the charges levelled against them.

ICPC COULD NOT JUSTIFY CASE AGAINST ORUBEBE

Godsday Orubebe, former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, had been charged to court by ICPC, in 2016 for N1.97 billion fraud, bothering on the diversion of funds meant for the compensation of owners of property on the Eket Urban section of the East-West road in Eket, Akwa Ibom State.

Abubakar Malami, the attorney general of the federation, in a letter to the chairman of ICPC, said the case of misappropriation does not exist, and further prosecution cannot be justified.

Orubebe was therefore discharged and acquitted on Tuesday, as the ICPC withdrew the case against him.

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