Oscarline Onwuemenyi
29 March 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday struck out the breach of fundamental human rights suit instituted by former NNPC Group Managing Director, Andrew Yakubu against the EFCC.
This followed an application by Mr. Adeola Adedipe, Yakubu’s counsel, to withdraw the suit.
Adedipe told the court that his application was due to the prevailing circumstances, particularly since his client had been charged to court and admitted to bail.
He said, “We consider it necessary to discontinue this suit, we have served the notice on all the parties and they are not opposed to our application.”
Mrs. Rita Ogar and Mr. T.A. Agbe, counsel to the EFCC and Attorney-General of the Federation, who are first and second respondents in the suit respectively did not oppose the application.
The judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed said since none of the parties opposed the application, the prayer was granted as prayed and he struck out the suit.
Yakubu had been detained by the EFCC over allegations of non-disclosure of assets, fraud and money laundering to the tune of $9.7 million. He approached the court with a breach of fundamental human rights suit, challenging his continued detention without being charged to court.
But before the matter could be determined, the EFCC arraigned him on a six-count charge bordering on non-disclosure of assets, money laundering and fraud charges to which he pleaded not guilty.
He was admitted to N300 million bail and the case was adjourned until May 9 for the commencement of trial.
Yakubu had filed the suit before Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja following his arrest on February 8, 2017, and his continued detention by the EFCC with respect to the sums of $9,772,800 and £74,000 recovered from his house in Kaduna on February 3.
On February 3, operatives of the EFCC had searched a building belonging to the former NNPC boss and recovered the money stashed in a huge fire-proof safe. On February 8, Yakubu reported to the Commission’s Kano Zonal Office where he admitted being the owner of both the house and the money recovered.
But his lawyer, Adeola Adedipe, informed the judge at the resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday that he had filed a notice of discontinuance of the suit on behalf of his client.
The lawyer cited the recent arraignment of the former NNPC boss and the bail subsequently granted him (Yakubu) by the court as the grounds for filing the discontinuance notice.
Justice Mohammed, before whom Yakubu was also arraigned on March 16, struck out the suit after Adedipe moved his client’s motion on Tuesday.
