The Appeal Court sitting in Ado Ekiti, on Tuesday dismissed
an interlocutory application brought before it by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC), seeking to restrain the Zenith Bank PLC from
allowing Governor Ayodele Fayose access to his accounts domiciled in the bank.
The account was last year June frozen over allegation that
it contained a sum of N2.999 billion out of the 3.2 billion dollars suspected
to have been distributed through the office of the former National Security
Adviser, Col Belo Dasuki
The EFCC is also requesting a stay of execution of the
judgement of the lower court.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti ,
had last year December 13 unfreezed Fayose’s domiciliary accounts in Zenith
Bank, Ado Ekiti branch , leading to the withdrawal of a sum of N5 million from
the same accounts by the governor shortly after the judgement.
Consequent upon this, the EFCC had filed an appeal against
the judgement and prayed the court to freeze the account on the premise that
the money was a proceed of crime. pending the dispensation of justice on the
matter to prove Fayose’s innocence
Delivering his judgement, the appeal court panel comprising
Justices Ahmed Belgore, Fatima Akinbami and
Paul Elechi, in a unanimous verdict
dismissed the application .
The judgement read by Justice Akinbami said: “No valid
appeal has been made against the judgement of the lower court which unfreeze
the account. Against the jusgement the EFCC was appealing against was not
attached to this application.
“EFCC also failed to show sufficient evidence that the money
in the account was a proceed of crime as claimed . In doing this, we expect the
EFCC to have showed evidence that the plaintiff has been tried for criminal
offence before for it to assume that he can receive proceed of crime.
“We also found that there was suppression of facts to get
the account frozen in the first instance. It was also noted that Governor
Fayose in line with Section 308 enjoys immunity and his personal account can’t
be frozen.
“Having not done all these as demanded by law and equity, as
those facts were facts that would assist in exercising the court’s discretion
either for or against as it is an application that is predicated on discretion
of the court. The application is hereby thrown out,”.
Reacting to the judgement, Fayose’s Lawyer , Chief Mike
Ozekhome (SAN), described it as landmark and conveyed aclear message that the EFCC was gradually becoming a lawless organization.
Ozekhome said the anti-graft agency will continue to lose
cases it filed against suspects in courts until it divorces itself of selective
justice and taking biased position in the politics of the country.
By Emmanuel Ani
