A Federal High Court in Abuja has convicted the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, of contempt.
Bawa’s conviction followed the alleged failure of the anti-graft agency to comply with a November 21, 2018 court order directing it to return a Range Rover and the sum of N40 million to the applicant in a suit.
But the EFCC spokesman, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, has indicated that the agency would appeal the ruling.
“The Commission is appealing the ruling,” Uwujaren said.
Ruling on the contempt charge, Justice Chizoba Oji said: “The Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is in contempt of the orders of this honourable court made on November 21st 2018 directing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abuja to return to the applicant his Range Rover (Supercharged) and the sum of N40, 000,000.00 (Forty Million Naira).
“Having continued wilfully in disobedience to the order of this court, he should be committed to prison at Kuje Correctional Centre for his disobedience, and continued disobedience of the said order of court made on November 21st, 2018, until he purges himself of the contempt.
“The Inspector-General of Police shall ensure that the order of this honourable court is executed forthwith.”
The ruling which was delivered on October 28, 2022, was on a motion on notice marked: FCT/HC/M/52/2021 filed by a one-time Director of Operations at the Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice-Marshal Rufus Ojuawo.
Ojuawo had filed a motion through his lawyer, Mr R.N. Ojabo, in a suit marked, FCT/HC/CR/184/2016 that the EFCC had refused to comply with the court order, directing it to release his seized property.
The EFCC had arraigned Ojuawo on a two-count charge before Justice Muawiyah Idris of the Federal High Court in Nyanya in 2016.
Ojuawo was accused of corruptly receiving gratification to the tune of N40 million and a Range Rover Sport (Supercharged) from one Hima Aboubakar of Societe D’Equipment Internationaux Nigeria Ltd.
Persecondnews recalls that in a November 21, 2018 ruling, Justice Idris had discharged and acquitted Ojuawo on the grounds that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Idris had ruled that for the charge to succeed, the prosecution must prove that the defendant corruptly accepted the gift and that he accepted or obtained the gift for himself or for any other person.
He said the burden of proof was on the prosecution to prove all ingredients of the charge preferred against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt as required under Section 131(1) of the Evidence Act, 2011.
“In conclusion, I hold that the prosecution has failed to prove the two counts charge of corrupt gratification under S17 (1)(a) and (c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
“The defendant is discharged and acquitted on counts one and two of the charge.
“Consequently, the complainant (EFCC) is ordered to refund the defendant his N40,000,000 wrongly paid into ONSA recovery account and to return to the defendant his Range Rover Sport (Supercharged) forthwith,” Idris said.
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