Court reserves ruling in ex-Rep Duru’s application to quash N16m fraud charge
A Federal Capital Territory High Court has adjourned indefinitely ruling on the preliminary objection filed by a former member of the House of Representative, Chidi Nze Duru against a charge of fraud and forgery brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The EFCC arraigned Duru on a four-count charge bordering on […]
A Federal Capital Territory High Court has adjourned indefinitely ruling on the preliminary objection filed by a former member of the House of Representative, Chidi Nze Duru against a charge of fraud and forgery brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC arraigned Duru on a four-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and forgery of documents to which he pleaded not guilty.
He was alleged to have diverted the payment of the 30% equity shares of First Guarantee Pension Ltd (FGPL) sold to Novare Holdings Proprietor Ltd to pay for land allocations from Lagos State government.
He served until 2011 as the Vice Chairman of FGPL. It was also alleged that he “knowingly and fraudulently made a false document”.
At the resumed hearing on the preliminary objection on Tuesday,Duru’s counsel, Barrister Abdul Muhammad urged the court to discharge Duru from all the offences contained in the charge.
He said this is because the charge is predicated on a complaint made by some shareholders of FGPL on matters arising from the “Draft Target Examination Report of FGPL” prepared by Nigeria Pension Commission which has been nullified by a court of law in a judgment dated 18/07/2012.
He said the second ground of challenging the FCT High Court’s jurisdiction is that the “suit is an abuse of the process of this Court in view of the pendency of the appeals at the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal challenging the validity or otherwise of the Target Examination Report which formed the fulcrum upon which this charge is framed.”
Counsel to EFCC, Barrister Sylvanus Tahir insisted that EFCC conducted an independent investigation which did not rely on the Target Examination Report.
He maintained this position even after the court directed his attention to page 131 of the proof of evidence which shows the said report was filed by the EFCC as parts of its proof of evidence.
Tahir further submitted that the Federal High Court did not grant any injunction restraining the EFCC from prosecuting Duru as it is being claimed but that the court only ordered accelerated hearing in the civil suit before it.
The trial judge, Justice Peter Affen thereafter adjourned ruling on the application to a date to be communicated to parties involved in the matter.