Court Fixes April 12 For Judgment On Ozekhome’s Application Over Frozen Account
Justice Abdulazeez Anka of the Federal High Court in Lagos will on April 12 deliver judgment on an application filed by human rights lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) challenging the temporary forfeiture of the sum of N75 million discovered in his Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) account.
Justice Anka fixed the date after lawyers in the matter argued and adopted their processes on Wednesday.
It will be recalled that the judge had issued an order freezing Ozekhome’s account on February 7 this year followed an application to that effect by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The anti-graft agency specifically claimed that the money, which was paid to Ozekhome as legal fee by the Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, was part of the N2.26 billion arms procurement fund, which a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), allegedly looted from the federal government.
During yesterday proceedings, Ozekhome, who personally moved the application, argued that the action of the EFCC was unconstitutional, had no legal justification, and was a gross violation of sections 36, 37 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution.
The lawyer also maintained that the application for an order for interim attachment/forfeiture of his account was made in bad faith by the commission and that it did not comply with the statutory and judicial authorities in obtaining an interim order vide motion ex parte.
Ozekhome, therefore asked the court for an order discharging and/or vacating forthwith, the interim order made ex-parte, which ordered an interim order of forfeiture to freeze or attach the money for 120 days.
The lawyer also wants an order restraining the Federal Government and the EFCC, whether by themselves, their operatives, agents, servants, and/or privies howsoever, from dealing in anyway and manner as to the operation or the proprietary rights of the ownership of the account.
Ozekhome further insisted that the respondent allegedly suppressed material facts in obtaining the order, therefore, the action is unconstitutional as same offends sections 36, 37 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution as there was no legal justification for EFCC’s action.
He also argued that “His family, staff, dependants, associates, business and livelihood will greatly suffer, and are already suffering and will continue to suffer irreparable damage if this application is not granted, and the blockade or freezing of the account lifted immediately.
“The interest of justice demands that these prayers be granted as it will ensure that the Applicant and his family, staff, associates, livelihood, dependants and business do not suffer untold and irreparable damages,” Ozekhome submitted.
On the materials facts EFCC allegedly suppressed, the lawyer maintained that EFCC did not disclose to Justice Anka the fact that Justice Taiwo O. Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti, had de-frozen Fayose’s accounts forthwith, thereby allowing the governor to operate them, before Fayose transferred N75 million to Mike Ozekhome’s Chambers account.
He also claimed that as at the time Fayose transferred N 75 million to his chambers account, there was no court processes filed or served on the applicant, indicating that the EFCC was on appeal, or asking the court to stay the execution of the order de-freezing Fayose’s account.
But counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo prayed the court not to lift the order freezing the lawyer’s account because the money in it are proceeds of crime.
Oyedepo submitted that the EFCC had traced N1.22bn out of the N2.26bn Dasuki loot to Fayose.
He also said that Dasuki routed the money to Fayose through a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro.
The lawyer stressed that though the EFCC had earlier secured an interim order from Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos to freeze Fayose’s account, the governor, through Ozekhome, went before Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Ado Ekiti Division of the Federal High Court to obtain an order to unfreeze the account.
The EFCC prosecutor said despite the fact that Fayose was aware that it had immediately appealed Justice Taiwo’s ruling, the governor still went ahead to dissipate part of the contentious funds, paying a sum of N75m to Ozekhome who helped him to secure Justice Taiwo’s unfreezing order.
Oyedepo maintained that Ozekhome ought to have “reasonably known that the N75m was transferred to him” from Fayose’s account, which the EFCC claimed was used to retain proceeds of crime and alleged kickbacks from some contractors in Ekiti State.
