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We didn’t know there was interim order against property, says EFCC witness

By Joseph Onyekwere
15 June 2016   |   2:59 am
The trial of the Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, continued yesterday with the cross examination of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission...
File Photo

File Photo

The trial of the Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, continued yesterday with the cross examination of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness, Godwin Adams, who explained that the anti-graft agency did not indicate that the property was subject of an interim order.

Adams gave evidence in trial of the human rights lawyer for allegedly dealing in property forfeited to the Federal Government through an interim order of court.

Lead counsel for the defence, Mr. Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) cross-examined him.When Oyetibo told the witness that he could be accused of dealing with property that was subject of an interim order of forfeiture by the court, he denied it and stated that it would be unfair to brand him as having dealt with forfeited property as there was no notice from the EFCC of such forfeiture, either on the building or with the management of Nicon Town Estate, as should have been the case.

He said he visited Mrs. Udeagbala in that same house about five times and there was no indication at all that the property was subject of an interim order of attachment.

He confirmed that he acted as agent to Shelf Drilling Company that leased the property whilst Mr. Adegboruwa only acted as counsel to Mr. Jonathan Udeagbala that leased the house. He said the rent paid into the account of Adegboruwa was paid for the benefit of the owner of the house.

The witness then proceeded to narrate that on the day the EFCC stormed the house, the company called him and he in turn called Mr. Adegboruwa, who rushed to meet them at the house. It was that very moment that himself and Mr. Adegboruwa were being told by EFCC operatives that the house was subject of an interim order of attachment and that he and Mr. Adegboruwa then both volunteered to go to the EFCC office to verify the facts only for them to get there and they were given statements to write. He said they were never arrested at all, that it was at the EFCC office that they really got to know of the interim order of attachment.

The witness stated that the company is still in possession of the property but it is now paying rent on the house to EFCC based on the interim order. “EFCC has in turn increased the rent from N10million to N12million and it has collected rent for two years amounting to N24million and it has demanded another rent for additional one year to be paid in July 2016,” he said.

The witness stated that it was Mr. Udeagbala, the owner of the house, that leased the property for five years and not Mr. Adegboruwa and that the lease was in writing. He said two other agents who were familiar with property in Nicon Town Estate introduced him to Mrs. Udeagbala, wife of the owner of the house and they all negotiated the cost and terms of the lease.

According to him, Adegboruwa was not part of the negotiations.After the cross examination, an attempt by the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, to tender the lease agreement was opposed by Mr. Oyetibo, following which Mr. Oyedepo stepped it down to tender it through another witness.

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