The legal proceedings surrounding the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, and the Kogi State High Court.
According to the report, the Court of Appeal in Abuja Division suspended the Kogi State High Court's move to commit Mr. Olukoyede for contempt and granted an ex parte motion for stay of proceedings of the contempt application filed against him by former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
The appeal court also granted EFCC prayers to serve the processes of the appeal by substituted means on the former governor.
The EFCC boss had been summoned by Justice Isa Abdullahi Jamil of the Kogi State High Court to appear on May 13, 2024, to show cause why he should not be committed to prison for allegedly disobeying the court's orders.
The EFCC, however, appealed the ruling and sought a stay of the proceeding of the court. The Court of Appeal gave orders for the stay of contempt proceedings after hearing Chief J.S. Okutepa (SAN) leading Eko Ejembi Eko (SAN), Abdulkareem Musa, and David Ojogbane Akogu.
The court also ordered for substituted service of all the processes in the case to be pasted at No 9 Bengazi Street Wuse Zone 4 Abuja being the last known address of Yahaya Bello. The hearing of the Motion on Notice was adjourned to May 20, 2024. Furthermore, the article mentions that EFCC operatives had laid siege to the residence of the former Governor on April 17, 2024, to arrest him, despite a court order restraining them from taking such action, pending the determination of the Originating Motion.
Justice Jamil’s order was based on a motion ex-parte filed by Yahaya Bello through his lawyer, M.S. Yusuf, in which he prayed the court for an order to issue and serve the Respondent (EFCC Chairman) with Form 49 Notice to show cause why Order of committal should not be made on Olukoyede.
Importantly, the article also notes that the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has dragged Justice Jamil to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for issuing the order of contempt against the EFCC chairman.
The NGO accused Justice Jamil of granting an order which sought to enforce "a non-existence and sundry misconduct," and described his action as a gross abuse of his judicial powers.
The petition was acknowledged by the Office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria on May 2nd, 2024. In conclusion, the article is a comprehensive report on the legal proceedings surrounding the EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, and the Kogi State High Court. It provides detailed information on the motions, orders, and appeals filed by the parties involved and sheds light on the involvement of the HEDA Resource Centre in the matter.
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