Justice Jude Onwueguzie from the Federal High Court in Apo, Abuja, dismissed a legal challenge on Monday from Olu Agunloye, the ex-Minister of Power and Steel, regarding the EFCC’s right to bring charges against him for an alleged fraud of $6 billion.
Agunloye is on trial for allegedly fraudulently awarding the Mambilla power project contract worth $6 billion.
At the last adjournment, the former minister’s lawyer, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), submitted a motion claiming that the EFCC did not have the necessary investigative or prosecutorial authority to pursue the charges against him.
Agunloye further requested that the court permit the involvement of Amicus Curiae, or friends of the court, in the hearing of the preliminary motion.
However, at the Monday’s sitting, Justice Onwueguzie ruled that the basis for the application was not necessary, saying that the court was not a novice and the friends of the court were not parties in the matter.
Citing Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, the judge also said that the law was clear on matters to be prosecuted by the EFCC.
- “I have studied the issues to be considered in this matter by the defendant whether the motion ought to be charged by the EFCC. It is eminent to note that the learned counsels in this case before the court are seasoned counsels, issues of such should not arise.
- “The court is not a novice, neither is it confused or in doubt on matters like this, so the intervention of friends of the court is not needed. Therefore the motion is hereby dismissed,” Justice Onwueguzie said.
The judge thereafter adjourned the matter to April 22 for hearing of preliminary motion.
Backstory
- Nairametrics reported that a Former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr Olu Agunloye, under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government, lodged a lawsuit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), demanding N1 billion.
- The lawsuit, filed under the case number FHC/ABJ/CS/167/2024 by Agunloye’s legal team led by Mr Adeola Adedipe, SAN, includes the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as an additional defendant alongside the original filing.
- Agunloye, former minister of power under President Olusegun Obasanjo, was at the centre of the $6 billion Mambilla hydropower contract controversy and had been quizzed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the affair over the years.