Arms Fraud: Court Orders EFCC to Grant Jonathan’s ex-ADC‎ Liberal Bail‎

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Tuesday, March 1st, 2016

By Abdul Gaffar Bello

BALTIMORE, MD (AFRICAN EXAMINER) – A Federal High Court sitting in Jabi, Abuja, has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to grant bail on liberal terms, to a former Aide De Camp to the immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan, Col. Ojogbane Adegbe.

Giving the ruling Tuesday on enforcement of fundamental human rights filed before him, by Adegbe, Justice Yusuf Halilu despite granting the bail, declined the suspect’s ‎prayer on N100m compensation for unlawful detention by officials of the EFCC as well as request for written apology from it.

Adegbe was arrested and being investigated by the EFCC last month over his alleged involvement in arms procurement fraud.

The former President’s aide Lawyer, Mr. Ogwu Onoja (SAN), told the court that the EFCC after hearing of the suit on February 25, transferred the accused from its custody to the Army.

Onoja added that after the hearing, the anti-graft body which alleged that the suspect was being held on the instruction of the Army, granted bail to his client but with conditions that were allegedly impossible to meet.

In her defence, EFCC’s lawyer, Benda Musu, responded she have no knowledge of the said transfer.

Justice Halilu after, held that Adegbe’s detention since February 11, 2016, without any charge preferred against him was unconstitutional and illegal. The Judge was also faulted for converting itself to the Police station or Army detention centre.

The jurist held the agency’s claims that it was investigating alleged arms procurement fraud in which Adegbe was allegedly involved and arrested in one hand and in another, to be holding him on the instruction of the Army, were contradictory.

Justice Halilu said he refused prayer for apology to the plaintiff for damages, since he (accused) still remained in the Nigerian Army while the EFCC is equally a Federal Government (FG) agency.