A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday granted a motion filed by former Senate President Bukola Saraki, seeking to amend his two separate suits filed against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and others.
Justice Inyang Ekwo granted the application after it was moved by Saraki’s counsel, Tunde Afe-Babalola, SAN, without opposition from the defense lawyers.
It should be recalled that Justice Ekwo had struck out the two suits filed by Saraki against the anti-graft agency and others on January 25 for lack of diligent prosecution.
The former Senate President had filed the suits, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/507/2019 and FHC/ABJ/CS/508/2019, on May 10, 2019. The respondents, in order from the 1st to the 6th, include the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), the State Security Service (SSS), the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).
After the suits were struck out in January, Saraki, through his lawyer, requested that the cases be relisted on the court’s cause list.
Saraki filed a motion on notice dated February 3, urging the court to relist the suits, which the judge granted.
Upon the resumed hearing of the cases on Monday, Afe-Babalola informed the court that a motion to amend the originating motion had been filed on July 29, and all the respondents were served on July 31.
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Lawyers representing the SSS (Abdulsalam Abdullahi), the EFCC (G.I. Ndeh), the ICPC (Glory Iroegbu), and the CCB (I.T. Mongu) did not oppose Afe-Babalola’s application to amend the originating motion. Consequently, Justice Ekwo granted the reliefs and adjourned the matter until February 6, 2025, for hearing.
“Any counsel responsible for the matter not being heard on that day will be personally penalized,” the judge warned.
Saraki initially filed the suits after the EFCC decided in 2019 to probe his earnings between 2003 and 2011, during his tenure as governor of Kwara State. The anti-graft commission was reported to have seized some of his properties in the Ikoyi area of Lagos.
On May 10, 2019, Saraki filed two separate suits before retired Justice Taiwo Taiwo to challenge the EFCC’s actions. In a ruling on an ex-parte application filed alongside the substantive suits, Justice Taiwo ordered the respondents to halt their investigation pending the hearing and determination of Saraki’s motion on notice.
However, the EFCC later requested that Justice Taiwo recuse himself and have the matter transferred to another court. Justice Taiwo subsequently returned the case file to the Chief Judge, who reassigned it to Justice Anwuli Chikere for adjudication.
When the matter came up on July 14, 2021, before Justice Chikere, EFCC counsel Chile Okoroma argued that Justice Taiwo’s order had hindered the agency “from performing its duty for about two years.” The lawyer stated that Saraki continued to rely on the court’s order whenever he was summoned, urging the court to vacate the order.
The suits were reassigned to Justice Ekwo following Justice Chikere’s retirement from the Bench.
