The Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission has urged Justice Abdulaziz Anka of the Federal
High Court in Lagos not to give Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) access to
his account
in Guaranty Trust Bank which has a balance of N75m.
The anti-graft
agency claimed that the money, which was paid to Ozekhome as legal fee by the
Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose, was part of the N2.26bn arms
procurement fund, which a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki
(retd.), allegedly looted.
The EFCC said they
traced N1.22bn out of the N2.26bn Dasuki loot to Fayose.
The anti-graft
agency stated that Dasuki routed the money to Fayose through a former Minister
of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro.
The EFCC said this
in a counter-affidavit it filed in opposition to an application by Ozekhome
seeking the unfreezing of his account.
Ozekhome’s GTB
account, having a balance of N75m, had since February 7, 2017, been frozen by
the EFCC on the order of Justice Anka.
But Ozekhome had
approached the court stating that the EFCC misrepresented facts to obtain the
freezing order and urged Justice Anka to lift the freezing order.
The SAN had
contended that the action of EFCC was unconstitutional, had no legal
justification, and was a gross violation of sections 36, 37 and 41 of the 1999
Constitution.
In response,
however, the EFCC, in a counter affidavit deposed to by one of its prosecutors,
Idris Mohammed, said though it had earlier secured an interim order from
Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos to freeze Fayose’s
account, the governor, through Ozekhome, went before Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the
Ado Ekiti Division of the Federal High Court to obtain an order to unfreeze the
account.
The EFCC prosecutor
said despite the fact that Fayose was aware that it had immediately appealed
Justice Taiwo’s ruling, the governor still went ahead to dissipate part of the
contentious funds, paying a sum of N75m to Ozekhome who helped him to secure
Justice Taiwo’s unfreezing order.
EFCC said Ozekhome
ought to have “reasonably known that the N75m was transferred to him” from Fayose’s
account, which the EFCC said was used to retain proceeds of crime and alleged
kickbacks from some contractors in Ekiti State.
The EFCC urged
Justice Anka not to unfreeze Ozekhome’s account.
Justice Anka
adjourned till March 7, 2017, for hearing in the case.
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