Lagos — A Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday dismissed a N10
million bribe allegation against the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) by a foreign exchange trader, Chinedu Chimelue
Eze-Akudo.
The trader had in a fundamental rights enforcement suit, which he
filed before the court against the EFCC, alleged that operatives of the
commission demanded N10 million as bribe from him before he could be
granted administrative bail.
However, Justice Okon Abang, while delivering judgment in the suit,
discountenanced the allegation on the ground that no evidence was
adduced to prove the said allegation.
Abang also said that the EFCC committed no crime in arresting the applicant (Eze-Akudo).
The judge held that from the processes before him, it was evident
that the EFCC granted the applicant administrative bail, but he could
not meet the conditions attached to the said bail.
According to the judge, the fundamental rights enforcement
application filed by the applicant was incompetent in that the EFCC was
not in breach of the fundamental rights of the applicant, and so the
agency could not be held liable of any breach in the performance of its
statutory duties.
Abang dismissed the suit and awarded N15,000 cost in favour of the EFCC against the applicant.
The applicant, who is still in custody, was arrested on May 4, 2014
for allegedly committing economic crimes to the tune of N17 million.
The petition that led to the arrest of the applicant was written by Unity Bank over alleged funds transfer fraud.
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The
All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday said it would sue
spokesperson of the States security Service (SSS), Marilyn Ogar, for
attempting to blame the party for the series of bomb blasts in the
country.
APC stated that by stating on national television that whenever the
opposition party wins the election, there would be no bomb blasts, but
whenever another party wins the election, there would be blasts, Ms.
Ogar was implying that the party was responsible for terrorism in
Nigeria.A press release issued by APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Saturday demanded Ogar’s resignation.
“For the DSS Spokesperson to echo the same capricious statement that has been made in the past by the spokesman of the PDP shows that the agency has dropped its toga of non-partisanship and has descended into the political fray.
“If the DSS has any professional ethics, if DSS is not an arm of the PDP, then the agency must publicly dissociate itself from the irresponsible and unfounded allegation by Ogar and disengage her from the service.
“'Doing that will be the first step in restoring the credibility, or whatever is left of it, of the DSS. In the alternative, we challenge the DSS to present to Nigerians any evidence it may have to link our party to the spate of bomb blasts in the country. After all, it is trite that he who alleges must prove."
The party also commented on Ogar’s allegation that “a certain political party” believed to be APC offered the SSS N14 million as a bribe, saying institutions of state like the SSS must know that their responsibility is to the nation, and not to any political party that may be having a transient hold on power that their loyalty is to the nation, not to any individual.
“This way, the institutions will keep their integrity intact and also serve the nation properly. Irrespective of the government in power, institutions of state must stay above the fray, in line with best practices.
“This is a lesson that should not be hard for the fellows over there at the DSS to understand, going by the antecedents of their agency. However, where they choose to play politics with their professionalism and integrity, they will soon realise there are working in an agency that is not worth its salt, one that has lost the respect of the citizenry."
It saddled the National Assembly with the task of inviting Ogar's to explain if the alleged N14 million bribe was offered and who offered it.
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