…Urges court to vacate forfeiture order on 40 of his properties
Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu on Thursday told a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is the cause of his travails at the London Court which has kept him in detention.
Ekweremadu, who is standing trial over allegations of organ harvesting, told the Court presided over by Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo, that the EFCC wrote a letter to the London Court that prompted it not to admit him to bail.
Ekweremadu accusations against the EFCC were contained in an application he filed before the Federal High Court seeking an order of the court to set aside the interim order it granted in favour of the Federal Government for the forfeiture of his 40 properties in and outside Nigeria.
The senator, in the application filed by his counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo SAN, said that the forfeiture order was granted the Federal Government in error based on the fact that the EFCC suppressed information and facts in respect of the properties.
Ekweremadu pointedly said that the EFCC fraudulently obtained the forfeiture order for government by concealing information that investigation on the 40 properties started as far back as 2008.
He also told the Court that the EFCC was fully aware that he was in detention in London when the application for forfeiture of the properties was filed and argued, stressing that the anti-graft agency deliberately refused to disclose to the Court that he was in London detention and would not be able to counter the forfeiture request.
Ekweremadu therefore prayed the court to set aside the forfeiture order and stay proceedings in the matter until he resolves his ordeal before the London Court.
In its response, the EFCC through its Counsel, Mr Silvanus Tahir SAN, denied that it was behind Ekweremadu’s ordeal even as it admitted that it wrote the London Court based on a special request.
The EFCC also said that it was a normal routine for anti-graft agencies to exchange information that would be of help to one another.
The anti-graft agency however did not oppose the request for stay of proceedings till Ekweremadu resolves his matter before the London Court but opposed the request for setting aside of the forfeiture order.
In his ruling after listening to arguments of both parties, Justice Ekwo fixed January 25, 2023 judgement on the matter.
The Court had on Friday, November 4, 2022, following an ex-parte motion filed and moved by Ibrahim Buba, lawyer to the EFCC, granted an interim forfeiture of 40 landed property belonging to Senator Ekweremadu in and outside Nigeria.
The Court directed the EFCC to publish the interim forfeiture order of the property in a national daily within seven days and also directed that anybody who has interest in the forfeited property should indicate within 14 days of the publication of the interim forfeiture order on why the property should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
The property in question include 10 property in Enugu, three in the United States of America, two in the UK, one in Lagos, nine in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate and 15 located within the Federal Capital Territory
