Arms deal: EFCC fails to freeze Fayose”s accounts

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) failed in its bid Tuesday to stop the execution of the judgment delivered on December 3 last year by a federal high court in Ado-Ekiti ordering it to unfreeze Governor Ayodele Fayose’s accounts. The EFCC had on June 21, 2016 placed restrictions on the governor’s two accounts with […]

 The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) failed in its bid Tuesday to stop the execution of the judgment delivered on December 3 last year by a federal high court in Ado-Ekiti ordering it to unfreeze Governor Ayodele Fayose's accounts. The EFCC had on June 21, 2016 placed restrictions on the governor's two accounts with the Ado Ekiti branch of the Zenith Bank, alleging that it had traced part of the arms funds allegedly siphoned by former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki there. But Fayose challenged the anti-graft action through his lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, following which Justice Taiwo Taiwo ruled on December 13, 2016 against the EFCC on grounds that the agency's actions ran foul of Section 308 of the Nigerian Constitution as amended in 1999. He therefore ordered the agency to un-freeze the governor's accounts with immediate effect. The EFCC's lead counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo filed an appeal urging the court to stay execution of the judgment to among other things allow the anti-graft agency preserve the funds in the accounts. Justice Taiwo Taiwo, who dismissed the EFCC's appeal yesterday, said the appeal was made in bad faith and cannot stay a judgment already executed. Other reasons for rejecting the appeal as stated by the judge include; the court is "functos officio" the EFCC application was instituted in bad faith, the initial suppression of facts brought in judgment of other courts on the issue, no proof of facts that appeal have been entered, proceed of crime not a subject matter in the substantive suit, the matter was not instituted as a criminal suit, court can not go on voyage of discovery to fish for fact to grant equitable remedy when the respondent averted that he has defendants and ready to refund the money if found liable at trial after his tenure.