The EFCC has opposed a motion filed by Sen. Rochas Okorocha, praying for an order quashing the money laundering charge preferred against him.
The EFCC, in a counter affidavit deposed to by Iyabo Daramola, the agency’s senior legal officer, and filed before Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court (FHC) Abuja, prayed the court to dismiss Okorocha’s application.
The agency, in its application dated and filed on Nov. 18, said it had seen and read through Okorocha’s motion dated Oct. 28, that “the depositions therein are grossly misleading and untrue particularly paragraphs 3 and 4.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Okorocha, in a motion on notice marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/28/22 dated and filed on Oct. 28, had prayed for an order quashing the charge and/or all counts of the charge preferred against him as a result of the investigation by the EFCC into his activities while in office as governor of IMO between 2011 and 2019.
Okorocha, who currently represents Imo West Senatorial District, described the suit as being “unlawful, baseless, oppressive and a gross abuse of the process of the court.”
He said that the investigation “on which the said charge was predicated, was the subject matter of suit number: FCH/PH/FHR/165/2021 wherein this Hon. Court, Coram Pam, J. had, in the final judgment at the suit of the applicant. declared unlawful and made an order prohibiting the EFCC from further proceeding.”
But the EFCC alleged that sometime in 2019, it received various intelligence reports from members of the public.
It said the ex-governor was said to have connived with the then acting accountant general of Imo, the pay officer, the cashier and others, to illegally withdraw the sum of N1 billion and N8 million from the coffers of the state government for the purpose of funding the governorship and state house of assembly’s election in Imo.
It also alleged that the sum of N30 billion was embezzled and stolen from the treasury of the Imo government by Okorocha under the guise of project execution and laundered through companies.
“Based on the intelligence mentioned in paragraph 5 above, officials of the respondent (EFCC) commenced an investigation which include making inquiries from the Zenith Bank on the state’s Federal
Account Allocation Committee (“FAAC”) and Joint State Local Government Account (JAAC),” it said.
The anti-corruption agency said it interviewed the signatories to the accounts; interviewed some of the contractors for the state; inquired from the banks with loan transactions with the state; making inquiries from the Code of Conduct Bureau, and interviewed former and present government officials.
It said the preliminary findings showed that between 2014 and 2018, the aggregate sum of N1 billion and over N8 million was transferred from the local government account of the state.
It said this was done under the guise of mobilisation for the building of 28 hospitals across every local government in the state through different companies, including Bureau De Change to a company which provided a lease of Learjet 45XR Aircraft for the personal use of the former governor.
The commission alleged that between January and April 2019, over N6 billion was transferred to different companies from the Imo State Joint State Local Government Project Account domiciled in Zenith Bank based on Okorocha’s directives without contract documentation or evidence of contract execution.
It also alleged that over N50 billion was moved from the treasury of the Imo government under the guise of execution of projects through proxy companies and nominees during his administration, among others.
He said Okorocha, upon realising that EFCC had begun an investigation, rushed to file suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/475/19 at FHC, Abuja, and surreptitiously secured an order ex-parte with a view to stopping the investigation.
The agency said it challenged the suit and also filed a motion alleging bias against the Hon. Justice Taiwo Taiwo who granted the said ex-parte order.
“In response, his Lordship, Honourable Justice Taiwo on 17’th December 2019, recused himself from the case and sent the case file back to the Hon. Chief Judge of the FHC for re-assignment.
“The case was reassigned to another court of the Federal High Court, Abuja to start de-novo and no ex-parte order has been made by the new court,” it said.
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