Court orders EFCC to grant Jonathan’s ex-ADC liberal bail

Posted by admin Latest Politics Tuesday, March 1st, 2016

Ade Adesomoju

A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi, Abuja, has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to immediately grant bail to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s ex-aide-de-camp, Col. Ojogbane Adegbe, in liberal terms.

Justice Yusuf Halilu, ruling on a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Adegbe on Tuesday, however, refused the plaintiff’s prayer for N100m compensation for unlawful detention by the EFCC and his request that the anti-graft agency should tender a written apology to him.

Meanwhile, before the judge started delivering his ruling on Tuesday, Adegbe’s lawyer, Mr. Ogwu Onoja (SAN), informed the court that the EFCC, after the hearing of the suit on February 25, transferred Adegbe from its custody to the Army.

Ogwu also said after the hearing, the EFCC, which claimed it was only holding Adegbe on the instructions of the Army, decided to grant bail to his client on stringent conditions that he could not fulfil.

But lawyer for the EFCC, Benda Musu, when asked to respond to the plaintiff’s lawyer’s claim, said the SAN had more knowledge of the said transfer.

However, the judge declared Adegbe’s detention by the EFCC since February 11 without filing charges against him as unconstitutional and illegal.

The judge also reprimanded the anti-graft agency for “reducing itself to a police station or a detention centre for the Nigerian Army”.

He observed that the EFCC took contradictory positions by claiming that it was investigating alleged arms procurement fraud for which Adegbe was arrested and in another breath claimed to be holding the plaintiff on the instructions of the Army.

“While the respondent (EFCC) is dancing Makossa on one side, it is singing another song on the other side,” the judge noted.

The judge however said he was unable to direct the EFCC to pay damages to the applicant or tender an apology to him since he was in the Army and the EFCC is also a government agency.

“On the whole, the respondent is ordered to grant bail to the applicant in liberal terms,” the judge ruled.

Adegbe stated in his suit that he had been detained by the EFCC since February 11 without being charged with any offence.

The suit with number, CV/995/16, was filed on February 17, 2016.

The plaintiff contended in his suit that by his continued detention the EFCC had violated his right to personal liberty and freedom of movement guaranteed under sections 35 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution.

He also contended that EFCC’s action violated Articles 5,6 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The plaintiff said he was summoned by the Army from the United Kingdom where he had been attending a military course to face interrogation from the EFCC.

-Punch

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