Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has said the commission would go ahead against the court order restraining it from prosecuting, Peter Odili, a former governor from Rivers State.
According to a report by PUNCH newspaper, the acting chairman of the agency, Ibrahim Magu, said this while addressing journalists in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Odili, a two-term former governor of Rivers State between 1999 and 2007, was accused by the EFCC of misappropriating public funds to a tune of N100 billion while he was governor.
But the former governor, in February 2007, while as the sitting governor of the state, had approached the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, praying it to grant him an order preventing any law enforcement agency from arresting, and prosecuting him for fraud.
On March 23, 2007, Justice Ibrahim Buba granted the former governor an injunction, restraining the EFCC from any further action in relation to the alleged economic and financial crimes.
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This included a declaration that the EFCC investigations were invalid, unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void.
Acting EFCC boss, Magu, however, explained that such an order would not hold, describing it as being overtaken by events.
He also noted that that the commission would ensure it exposes and prosecutes all criminal activities in Nigeria.
“Nothing is going to stop us; even the issue of the court order allegedly obtained by Dr Peter Odili and co to stop the EFCC from investigation and prosecution has been overtaken by events.
“I am telling you that the judgement cannot stand. It will only take some time. It cannot hold and we are going to conclude the investigation. There are so many investigations we are doing.
“We will take it before the court; let the court refuse to prosecute their case. I am sure the matter has suffered for about 13 years now. We are going to test it. The matter is in the Supreme Court, we will follow it up.
“That decision that is pending in the Supreme Court does not actually. cannot hold water again. There are subsequent judgements that have discarded it.
”Clearly, there are other judgements that came up and said nobody, not even the judge, not even the judiciary, not even the court can stop us from investigating and prosecuting.”
