The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Monday granted a motion filed by former Senate President Bukola Saraki seeking to amend his two separate suits against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and others.
Justice Inyang Ekwo granted the application after it was moved by Mr Saraki’s counsel, Tunde Afe-Babalola (SAN), and was not opposed by the defence lawyers.
Mr Ekwo had, on January 25, 2023, struck out the two suits filed by Mr Saraki against the anti-graft agency and others for lack of diligent prosecution.
The ex-Senate president had filed the suitsmarked FHC/ABJ/CS/507/2019 and FHC/ABJ/CS/508/2019 at the FHC on May 10, 2019.
In the suits, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the State Security Service (SSS) are first to third defendants, respectively.
Others are EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) as fourth to sixth respondents, respectively.
But after the suits were struck out on January 252023, the ex-Senate president, through his lawyer, approached the court for a relisting of the cases to the court’s cause list.
Mr Saraki had filed a motion on notice dated February 1 and filed February 3 pursuant to Order 19, Rule 1 and 3, Order 26, Rule 3 of FHC Civil Procedure Rules, 2019 to urge the court for the relisting of the suits and his prayers were granted by the judge.
However, upon the resumed hearing on the cases on Monday, Mr Afe-Babalola informed the court that a motion to amend their originating motion was filed on July 29 and that all the respondents were served on July 31.
Lawyer to the SSS, Abdulsalam Abdullahi; EFCC’s lawyer, G.I. Ndeh, including the ICPC’s lawyer, Glory Iroegbu, and CCB’s counsel, I.T. Mongu, did not oppose Mr Afe-Babalola’s application to amend his originating motion.
Justice Ekwo, therefore, granted the reliefs and adjourned the matter until February 6, 2025, for the hearing.
“Any counsel that will be responsible for the matter not being heard on that day will be personally penalised,” the judge warned.
Mr Saraki filed the suits following the EFCC’s decision in 2019 to probe his earnings between 2003 and 2011 when he was governor of Kwara.
The anti-graft commission was reported to have seized some of his houses in the Ikoyi area of Lagos then.
However, Mr Saraki, on May 10, 2019, filed two separate suits before retired Justice Taiwo Taiwo to challenge the action of the EFCC.
Justice Taiwo, the presiding judge then, ruled on an ex-parte application filed along with the substantive suits.
The judge ordered the anti-corruption agency (fourth respondent) and the other five respondents to the suits to stay action on the probe pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed by the applicant.
The order was granted after Mr Saraki’s lawyer moved the application on May 14, 2019.
The court had directed the parties to maintain the status quo by suspending the probe.
However, the EFCC later applied that the judge should recuse himself and transfer the matter to another court.
Justice Taiwo sent the case file back to the chief judge, and the matter was reassigned to Justice Anwuli Chikere for adjudication.
When the matter came up on July 14, 2021, before Justice Chikere, EFCC’s counsel, Chile Okoronkwo, complained that Mr Taiwo’s order had hindered the agency “from performing its duty for about two years.”
The lawyer, who stated that Mr Saraki continued to hinge on the court’s order any
time he was invited, urged the court to vacate the order.
But the suits were reassigned to Justice Ekwo following Mr Chikere’s retirement.
(NAN)