A FEDERAL Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, Abuja, has thwarted efforts by the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Salami, to secure bail from the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
The judge, Babangida Hassan, gave the ruling on Thursday, December 18.
A statement by the commission said Malami, through his counsel, Suliaman Hassan, a senior advocate and a doctorate holder, had approached the court seeking bail from the custody of the EFCC. He argued that his detention by the commission in its ongoing investigation was illegal.
The EFCC’s counsel, J.S. Okutepa, also a senior advocate, submitted that the commission was holding the former minister through a valid remand order obtained at an FCT High Court granted by a judge, S. C Oriji.
“He equally affirmed that the EFCC was a law-abiding commission that would not detain a suspect beyond the lawful period without an order of the court.
“In his ruling, Justice Hassan held, quoting Section 35 of the Constitution, that since there was a provision in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, for detention, Malami was lawfully detained by the remand order of the court. ‘Asking this court to grant this application is tantamount to inviting the court to sit as an appellate court over an application made by a court of coordinate jurisdiction which the court has no power to do'”, the EFCC quoted the judge to have said.
The ICIR reports that Malami has been held by the EFCC over the recovered loot of the former late Head of State, Sani Abacha, a general.
Malami was a minister under the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, under whose government the recovery process was carried out.
There have been altercations between the commission and Malami over the past days since he was held.
While Malami argued that the claims against him were untrue and said the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, should recuse himself from investigating him, citing vendetta, the commission has insisted he must be probed.
The embattled former minister had alleged that the investigation and his continued detention were not driven by genuine law enforcement concerns but by “deep-seated historical animosity” involving the EFCC chairman.
He recalled that while he served as attorney-general, the Federal Government set up the Justice Ayo Salami Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe allegations of corruption and abuse of office within the EFCC, during which the current EFCC chairman served as secretary.
According to him, the Salami report contained findings implicating the EFCC chairman, including recommendations that could have led to his prosecution.
The commission has dismissed Malami’s arguments and continued with its probe. Reports indicate that his houses in Abuja and Kebbi were raided by the EFCC as the investigation progresses.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ mfatunmole@icirnigeria.org