Despite
controversy over the origin of the suit asking that the sum of N1.4 billion and
another $1.3 million that was recovered from former governor of Bayelsa State,
Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, be returned to the state’s treasury, a Federal High
Court in Abuja, yesterday, summoned Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC, and its Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, to appear before it on April
15.
Trial judge,
Justice Ademola Adeniyi, also directed the anti-graft agency and its chairman
to ensure that they entered their defence to the issues raised in the suit
before that date.
The court
further directed that they should be duly served with hearing notices in
respect of the suit.
It will
be recalled that a security expert, Mr. George Uboh, had maintained that he was
mandated by the Bayelsa State Government to file the suit to help recover the
funds, which were seized from its convicted former governor.
But the
Bayelsa State Government had denied ordering the suit, insisting that it never
filed such matter before the high court.
Uboh, who
is the Chief Executive of Panic Alert Security System, PASS, produced a copy of
the mandate as well as series of correspondences between him and EFCC in
relation to the seized funds.
In the
suit against EFCC and its Chairman, in the name of Bayelsa State, it applied
for a declaration that the failure of EFCC to remit the complete funds
recovered from Alamieyeseigha after he was investigated and prosecuted and
“subsequently trading with the funds by way of funds placement/fixed deposits,
is an act of corruption and an economic crime contrary to sections 6 and 7 of
the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004.”
Vanguard.
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