Court awards N10m damages against EFCC

Posted by admin EFCC Politics, Latest Politics Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

A Federal High Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, yesterday awarded N10 million damages against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for sealing off the private home of former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose.

EFCC operatives swooped the on the building located in Government Reserved Area (GRA), Iyaganku Quarters, Ibadan on September 29, last year; ejected the occupants and sealed it off.

Fayose went to court to enforce his fundamental human rights.

Justice J. E. Shakarho held that the EFCC must bear full responsibility for the “wrongful acts” carried out by its officials and he slammed N10 million damages against the commission.

He said the action of EFCC officials amounted to “malicious embarrassment to Fayose”.The judge held that no order was made on the applicant to forfeit his property to the Federal Government.

The court also restrained EFCC, his agents, privies or anyone or organisation acting on its behalf from further issuing “misleading press statements, publishing pictures of the applicant’s residence and or procuring the release of any misleading information in the print media, in any manner…”

Justice Shakarho also restrained EFCC from sealing off the property or from infringing on the fundamental and constitutional rights of the applicant.

Fayose had urged the court to issue an order confirming and enforcing his fundamental rights to fair hearing, dignity of human person, liberty, private and family life and to own immovable property; an order restraining the respondent from issuing misleading press statements or publishing the picture of the house in the media; N50 million damages and any other order the court may deem fit.

He supported his application with an 18-paragraph affidavit in which he stated that EFCC officers intruded in his family’s privacy and caused the picture of the said house to be printed in the media. He claimed that the commission lied by declaring that it was carrying out a 2006 order by the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, which authorised it to seal off the building in the interim.

He added that no such order was made against his property, saying EFCC was only acting the script of the Ekiti State Government via a letter dated September 20, 2010 compelling the commission to seal off his residence out of sheer political vendetta.

In its 16-paragraph counter- affidavit, however, EFCC insisted that the order issued by Justice Tijani Abubakar of Federal High Court, Ikoyi allowed it to seal off the premises.

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