BY Timothy Yusuf
An Abuja-based legal practitioner, Barrister Alexander Oketa, of Alex Oketa Chambers, has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Abuja land grabbing, disobedience to court orders, and fragrant abuse of powers.
Speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, Oketa noted that the EFCC has delved into land ownership dispute between Jona Brothers Construction Ltd. and Chief Michael Adeojo, which he said, ordinarily should not fall within the jurisdictional competence of the commission.
He pointed out that the property, located at Plot 680-689 Mabushi-Abuja, and owned by his client, Jona Brothers Construction Ltd. was never a proceed of financial crime to warrant the intervention of the EFCC.
Oketa disclosed that four judgments have been given on the property at the FCT High Court, in favour of his client, adding that despite the judgments, the EFCC has refused to obey the court judgments, even as the commission has continued to invade the property, and threatening to stop ongoing construction work at the premises.
According to him, “I must say that this is a land ownership dispute between Jona Brothers Construction Limited and Chief Michael Adeojo, which ordinarily the EFCC ought not to be part of.
However, I am drawing the attention of Nigerians to the fragrant abuse, misuse of power and shameless display of rascality and disobedience to four judgments of the FCT High Court, which are in favour of my client, Jona Brothers Construction Ltd, against the EFCC, and Chief Michael Adeojo.
In this matter, Chief Michael Adeojo has been defeated by due process of law.
For instance, Justice S. U. Bature of the FCT High Court, first gave judgment against Chief Michael Adeojo’s company, Best Bargain Auto Plaza.
Chief Michael Adeojo applied and filed a fresh suit, which he is entitled to, to set aside the judgment of S. U. Bature, and the fresh suit was dismissed by another Judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Binta Mohammed.
Upon the dismissal of Chief Michael Adeojo’s application, to set aside the suit, his lawyer, Omotosho SAN, filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal, which he later withdrew.
After withdrawing the appeal, Omotosho SAN then ‘appealed’ to the EFCC to help him dispossess my client of the land.”
He continued, “The EFCC first of all, wanted to forcefully take over the property, and we filed a Fundamental Right Application to the FCT High Court.
Again, the FCT High Court, presided over by Hon. Justice Ibrahim Mohammed, upheld our Fundamental Right Application, and warned the EFCC to respect the court order.
While the suit against the EFCC was pending before Justice Ibrahim, the EFCC prosecutor, Elizabeth Alabi, sneaked into the Federal High Court, and obtained an Ex-parte Order, to temporarily forfeit the same property to the federal government.
I want to inform that this is not a property that has been alleged to be a proceed of a financial crime, to bring it within the jurisdictional competence of the EFCC or the Federal High Court.
While the matter was pending before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, we drew his attention that Learned Justices at the FCT High Court have delivered judgments on the matter.
And while that was pending, the EFCC also filed a frivolous charge against my client, before another Justice of the FCT High Court, Modupe Osho Adebiyi.
When Justice Modupe Osho Adebiyi looked at the fact of the matter, she dismissed the charges brought by the EFCC against my client, and even described the action of the EFCC as malicious abuse of the powers of the EFCC, abuse of court process, and awarded a punitive cost of N20 million against the EFCC.
Even with these judgments the EFCC, last weekend, invaded the property, threatening to stop an ongoing construction work by my client, even when there is no order to that effect.”
He warned that if anything goes wrong in that property, the EFCC prosecutors, Elizabeth Alabi and Sylvester Tahir SAN, should be held liable.
