The Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, on Tuesday, convicted Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa for contempt of court.
Justice Chizoba Oji of the Federal Capital Territory High Court ordered the conviction of Bawa because of the anti graft agency’s refusal to obey a valid order made by the court on November 21, 2018.
Following the order convicting Bawa, the court consequently committed the EFCC boss to Kuje Correctional facility until he purges himself of the contempt.
In a ruling delivered on October 28, 2022, of which its certified true copy was sighted by judiciary correspondents on Tuesday, the court ordered the Inspector General of Police to ensure that the order is executed forthwith.
The ruling was on a motion on notice filed by a one-time Director of Operations at the Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Rufus Adeniyi Ojuawo, over unlawful seizure of his money and car by the EFCC.
Specifically, the motion
marked: FCT/HC/M/52/2021, was drawn from a suit marked, FCT/HC/CR/184/2016, filed by Ojuawo’s lawyer, R.N. Ojabo.
In the said suit, Ojuawo had submitted that the EFCC refused to comply with the order made by the court in a judgment delivered on November 21, 2018.
The November 21, 2018, judgment had ordered the EFCC to release Ojuawo’s seized property.
However, in a ruling on the applicant’s motion on notice, Justice Oji held that “The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is in contempt of the orders of this honourable court made on November 21st 2018, directing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abuja to return to the applicant his Range Rover (Super charge) and the sum of N40, 000,000.00
“Having continued wilfully in disobedience to the order of this court, he should be committed to prison at Kuje Correctional Centre for his disobedience, and continued disobedience of the said order of court made on November 21st, 2018, until he purges himself of the contempt.
Justice Orji discountenanced the arguments by the EFCC lawyer Francis Jirbo, to justify the commission’s disobedience to a court order.
It will be recalled that AVM Ojuawo was arraigned by the EFCC on a two-count charge before Justice Muawiyah Baba Idris of High Court of the FCT in Nyanya in 2016.
The EFCC had alleged that Ojuawo corruptly received gratification amounting to N40 million and a Range Rover Sport (Supercharged) from one Hima Aboubakar of Societe D’Equipment Internationaux Nigeria Limited.
In a judgment on November 21, 2018, Justice Idris discharged and acquitted Ojuawo on the grounds that the prosecution failed to prove its case.
For the charge to succeed, the court held that the EFCC lawyer must prove that the defendant corruptly accepted the gift; that he accepted or obtained the gift for himself or for any other person.
More so, it was the opinion of the court that the prosecution ought to have proven that the defendant accepted the gift in the course of, or for discharging his official duty, and that the gift was an inducement or reward.
In addition, Justice Idris maintained that the burden was on the prosecution to prove all ingredients of the charge filed against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt as required under Section 131(1) of the Evidence Act, 2011.
“In conclusion, I hold that the prosecution has failed to prove the two counts charge of corrupt gratification under S17 (1)(a) and (c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
“The defendant is discharged and acquitted on counts one and two of the charge.
“Consequently, the complainant (EFCC) is ordered to refund the defendant his N40,000,000 wrongly paid into ONSA recovery account and to return to the defendant his Range Rover Sport (Supercharged) forthwith,” Justice Idris ordered.