The Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Garki, Abuja, on Tuesday nullified an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission investigation report that had alleged fraud in the London/Paris Club refunds involving the country’s 774 local government areas.
In his judgment, Justice Suleiman Belgore criticised the Federal Government for directing the anti-graft agency to probe the matter when two separate court decisions had already been delivered on it.
The judge held that the Federal Government exceeded its powers when it directed the EFCC, through the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, to investigate court judgments that ordered payment to a consultant, Dr. Ted Iseghohi-Edwards, for legal services he rendered in the matter.
Justice Belgore observed that the directive was issued after the government had already released promissory notes for the payment, following a clearance report by the Department of State Services, DSS.
He held that the EFCC’s subsequent report amounted to an affront to the authority of the court.
“The law and the court must be respected. They are both official and statutory. It is not within the powers of the Respondents to use Exhibit GG to impugn the integrity of the court by claiming the judgement was obtained fraudulently,” he held.
The judge stated that the proper step for the Federal Government was to file processes seeking to set aside the judgments, rather than investigate them.
“There were negotiated terms of engagement between the Incorporated Trustees of ALGON and the applicant. These terms of engagement were renegotiated by parties in open court on September 15, 2016,” Justice Belgore added.
He further held that the 10 promissory notes issued to Iseghohi-Edwards, in compliance with a valid order of mandamus made against the Federal Government by the Federal High Court, were validly issued by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Consequently, the court upheld the suit filed by the Abuja-based lawyer, holding that there was unassailable evidence that he was retained by the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, to represent the 774 local government areas in the London/Paris Club refunds matter.
Among the reliefs granted, the court barred the Federal Government and its agencies from arresting, detaining or prosecuting the plaintiff, or infringing on his fundamental rights in connection with the matter.
