Kogi vs EFCC: Court adjourns ruling on asset forfeiture to April 20

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, fixed April 20 to rule on an application by the Kogi State government, seeking to vacate an interim order, freezing 14 properties linked to Governor Yahaya Bello. 

Justice Nicholas Oweibo announced the date after taking submissions from the governor’s counsel, Abdulwahab Mohammed (SAN) and lawyer to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Oyedopo (SAN).  

The court had, on February 22, made an interim forfeiture order following an ex parte motion to confiscate 14 properties and firms in Lagos, Abuja and the United Arab Emirates, as well as N400 million recovered from one Aminu Falala. 

When the matter came up yesterday, the Kogi State counsel, Mohammed, told the court that he had an application dated March 9, 2023 seeking to vacate the order of the court made on February 22.  

The senior lawyer, while moving the application, stated that around the third quarter of 2021, the anti-graft approached the court to freeze Kogi’s N20 billion salary bailout loan that was allegedly hidden in Sterling Bank.  

He said when the state government called the financial institution, it denied that such account existed, and that they challenged the freezing order made by Justice Tijjani Ringim on the ground that the order was obtained illegally.  

Mohammed further stated that EFCC instead of apologising, issued a media statement that the money had been returned to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).   According to him, the Kogi government approached its State High Court and obtained an order, restraining EFCC from having anything to do with the state, until the substantive matter was determined.

He argued that the order was still subsisting.

The application reads: “The EFCC, in flagrant disregard of the said order and pending appeal at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, arrested one Ali Bello, nephew of the applicant, who is an associate of the state government on November 29, 2022.

“That the EFCC, in flagrant disobedience of the subsisting order of the High Court of Kogi State, interrogated Bello and coerced him to oblige them information pertaining to most of the properties listed in the order of this court made on February 22, 2023.

“That the said Bello, aggrieved by his illegal arrest and forced interrogation, filed a fundamental rights enforcement application at the High Court of Kogi State, Lokoja Judicial Division against the EFCC in suit No: HCL/696”/2022: Ali Bello v The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) & Anor.

“That the High Court of Kogi State, in a judgment delivered on January 12, 2023, granted all the reliefs sought by the applicant and made an order declaring his arrest, detention and interrogation illegal and unconstitutional and further ordered perpetual injunction, restraining the EFCC, its agents, servants, privies or howsoever called from further arrest, detention, harassment and intimidation of the said Ali Bello, nephew of the applicant herein.

“The judgment of the High Court of Kogi State delivered on January 12, 2022 is herewith attached and marked Exhibit D.” Mohammed stated that the EFCC, in continuous disobedience of the extant orders barring it from inviting or doing anything in respect to affairs of Kogi State government and its officials, brought the instant application for preservation order of properties they alleged are reasonably suspected to have been derived from unlawful activity stemming from the purported misappropriation of funds belonging to Kogi State government.

He argued that the application filed by EFCC on February 20, 2023 upon which the court made the order dated February 22,2023, sought to be vacated, is a continuous disobedience of subsisting orders of Kogi High Court.

EFCC counsel, Oyedepo, in his response, contended that the applicant had brought nothing before the court to convince it to vacate the order.
He urged the court to dismiss the application, seeking to vacate the order earlier made by the court. Justice Oweibo, subsequently, adjourned till April 20 to rule on the application.