Court Faults FG, EFCC Over Probe of Paris Club Refund Judgments

By: Ganiyu Olayinka

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting in Garki has set aside an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigation report that alleged fraud in the London/Paris Club refunds involving the country’s 774 local government areas.

In a judgment delivered yesterday, Justice Suleiman Belgore faulted the Federal Government for directing the anti-graft agency to investigate the matter despite two separate court decisions on it.

The judge held that the government exceeded its powers when it directed the EFCC, through the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, to probe court judgments ordering payment to a consultant, Dr Ted Iseghohi-Edwards, for legal services rendered in the matter. He noted that the directive came after the government had issued promissory notes for the payment, following a clearance report by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Justice Belgore said the EFCC’s subsequent report amounted to an affront to the authority of the court. He held that the respondents had no power to rely on the report, marked as Exhibit GG, to challenge the integrity of the court by claiming the judgment was fraudulently obtained. The proper course for the Federal Government, he said, was to file processes seeking to set aside the judgments rather than investigate them.

The judge also noted that there were negotiated terms of engagement between the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) and the applicant, which the parties renegotiated in open court on September 15, 2016.

He held that the 10 promissory notes issued to Iseghohi-Edwards, in compliance with a valid order of mandamus made against the Federal Government by the Federal High Court, were validly issued by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The court therefore upheld the suit filed by the Abuja-based lawyer, finding unassailable evidence that ALGON’s incorporated trustees retained him to represent the 774 local government areas in the London/Paris Club refunds matter.

Among the reliefs granted, the court barred the Federal Government and its agencies from arresting, detaining or prosecuting the plaintiff, or infringing on his fundamental rights in connection with the matter.