• Seeks dissolution of commission
Alex Enumah in Abuja
Hope Democratic party, one of the registered political parties that participated in the 2015 general election has dragged President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) before a Federal High Court in Abuja, praying for dissolution of the management of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The suit with number FHC/ABJ/CS/1028/2017, is praying for an Order of Mandamus compelling the President and AGF to dissolve without delay the structure of the EFCC and to probe the gross abuse of power and office by some operatives of the anti-graft agency.
Also joined as defendants in the fresh court action are the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, and two of his operatives, A.I. Arogha and Ukpeni Ewoh said to be at the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the anti -graft agency.
The grouse of the HDP among others, were that the EFCC as presently constituted is engaging in abuse of power by turning its operatives to agents of war against perceived political opponents.
In the court action instituted by C. U. Ezeukwu on behalf of the party, plaintiff claimed that its presidential candidate in the 2015 general election, Chief Ambrose Albert Owuru, had been allegedly subjected to harassment, intimidation and oppression by two EFCC operatives in Port Harcourt upon his filing a court action against the federal government on the fuel subsidy scam.
The party claimed that the harassment, intimidation and oppression of its National Leader got to the climax when the two EFCC operatives instigated a land speculator to write a damaging petition against Owuru.
Plaintiff further claimed that a criminal charge was preferred against its sponsored presidential candidate and that after several years of failure to secure his conviction in court, the said land speculator, Ikechukwu Eze, swore to an affidavit to deny the content of the petition and sought for the withdrawal of the criminal charge against its national leader.
The party further averred that in spite of the withdrawal of the petition on oath by the alleged land speculator, the two EFCC operatives said to be prosecutors in the matter have resisted the move by the court to strike out the charge.
HDP also contended that rather than facing the reality, the EFCC operatives also instigated a team of special armed robbery Squad SARS to arrest and carry out a search warrant in the house of its national leader in Port Harcourt and that in the end nothing incriminating was found.
The party therefore asked the court to d’être whether by virtue of section 15 (5), 36, 174 seventh schedule of the 1999 constitution and section 355, 109 and 494 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and section 6 and 17 of the EFCC Act 2004 to determine whether the President, AGF and Magu cannot be compelled to discipline, interdict or prosecute the operatives found to be a allegedly engaging in blackmailing, harassing and intimidating innocent Nigerians including Owuru.
The party therefore applied for Order of Mandamus compelling Buhari, Malami and Magu to probe, interdict, dismiss and prosecute the operatives engaging in blackmail of innocent Nigerians including its national leader to frustrate the fight against corruption.
The party also applied for Order of Perpetual Injunction to restrain the defendants, their servants, agents or privies from any further harassment, blackmail and intimidation of its former presidential candidate in the interest of justice and fairness.
Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.
