BREAKING: Obanikoro and family lose N100m property seizure suit to EFCC
- The federal high court ruled that EFCC's action was within the law and it would enable it to carry out its job of prosecuting the family in a criminal trial
- The EFCC had earlier countered the lawsuit saying its actions to seize properties were based on the grounds that Obanikoro received funds from ex-national security adviser and his family was linked to the matter
- The presiding judge said the case by the Obanikoro family lacked merit
Senator Musiliu Obanikoro and his family have lost N100m suit they filed against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the seizure of their properties by the anti-corruption agency.
Daily Sun reports that a federal high court sitting in Lagos dismissed the suit filed by Obanikoro, his wife Alhaja Moroophat, his two sons Gbolahan, Babajide and Fati (Babajide’s wife) on the grounds that it lacked merit.
READ ALSO: Senator Isiaka Adeleke buried amid tears
They plaintiffs had sued the EFCC urging the court to declare that the alleged forceful seizure of their assets by the anti-graft agency is a gross violation of their rights and to issue an order setting it aside.
Obanikoro and his wife Moroophat filed charges against the EFCC over seizure of their properties.
They also urged the court to grant an order directing EFCC to tender “unreserved public apology” and pay N100 million as damages while another order should be issued restraining EFCC from arresting, detaining or harassing them or entering their premises again to seize their properties.
But the EFCC had countered the suit with a preliminary objection stating that Obanikoro received suspicious payments from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) through companies linked to the family.
READ ALSO: Angry mob scatters Senator Adeleke's burial
The agency then urged the court to dismiss the suit because the agency’s action against the plaintiffs fell within the law.
But the presiding judge ruled that the action of the EFCC was to enable it to prosecute a criminal case against the claimants.
Moreover, he said, the defendants can make their breach of fundamental rights cases during the trial of the criminal charges against them.
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com gathered that the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu has said that the agency recovered over N17billion in just the last four months.
The anti-corruption chief said this on Saturday, April 22 at the FCT Archive Building, Abuja while he was delivering a speech at the 2017 Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) Week/Award Day.
Watch this NAIJ.com TV video of former NNPC group managing director Andrew Yakubu arraigned in court over fraud allegations