Mrs Patience Omoike-Mark, counsel to former Minister of Aviation, Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, on Thursday, stated that a Federal High Court (FHC) sitting in Lagos did not order the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to file fresh charges against him and others.
Omoike-Mark said that Justice Daniel Osiagor, instead, declared that the suit no longer had a life before the court following a Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal’s judgment quashing the case.
The lawyer, who gave the clarification in a statement she signed on Thursday in Abuja, also made available to newsmen a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the ruling delivered by the judge to that effect.
Media reports had claimed that a FHC in Lagos had ordered that exhibits and documents in a suit marked:
FHC/L/251C/16, filed by the EFCC against former Minister of State for Finance, Nenandi Usman, Fani-Kayode and others be released back to the commission to enable it to file fresh charges against the defendants in the Abuja division of the court.
But reacting, Omoike-Mark refuted the media reports, saying that the court only directed that documents and exhibits filed in the course of the trial be returned to parties in the case.
“We refer to case number FHC/L/251C/16, FRN vs NENADI ESTHER USMAN & 3 ORS.
“The matter, wherein we represent the 2nd defendant (Fani-Kayode), came up on the 25th of April, 2023.
“The court was informed of the judgment of the Court of Appeal quashing the charge in the Federal High Court, Lagos over lack of jurisdiction.
“And after counsel applied for their documents in the matter, the court, in abiding by the decision of the Court of Appeal, ordered that documents belonging to parties in the suit be released to them.
“What this implied is that all parties, including Chief Fani-Kayode, should have access to their documents.
“The court struck out the suit from its own docket since it no longer has jurisdiction to hear it,” she said.
The lawyer said that the clarification became necessary to let the Nigerian public know the truth.
“As at today, there is no case in respect of these charges in the court against our client and after seven years of prosecution.
“The court, having noted that the Court of Appeal has announced the death of this case in this jurisdiction.
“It is hereby ordered that all exhibits or documents of the parties be returned to them.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Court of Appeal in Lagos had, on April 20, quashed charges of misappropriation of N4.6 billion and money laundering brought against Mrs Usman, alongside Fani-Kayode, a former Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Yusuf Danjuma, and a company, Jointrust Dimensions Nigeria Ltd.
The decision followed an appeal filed by Mrs Usman against the lower court on jurisdictional grounds.
Credit: Vanguard News Nigeria