Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt
The Hope Democratic Party (HDP) has alleged that operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have enlisted a newly posted senior judicial officer of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, to destroy, remove or destroy duly filed court records in a suit between its national leader and Chairman, Chief Ambrose Owuru, and the commission.
The party said the aim was to reverse a duly filed sworn affidavit by the anti-graft agency withdrawing its complaint against Owuru so as to reverse and return a withdrawn case in order to cover up the quest for the prosecution of one Ikechukwu Eze and two others.
Owuru, a two-time presidential candidate of the HDP, has been seeking for the prosecution of the trio in the Federal High Court, over the alleged sale of his property located in the Old GRA, Port Harcourt, which is subject of litigation before a Port Harcourt High Court.
HDP, in a statement made available to journalists in Port Harcourt thursday and signed by Nageed Sani and Mahmoud Shaba, National Publicity Secretary and Deputy National Chairman, respectively, accused the senior judicial officer of making a brief bench ruling instead of adjourning the case for thorough investigation.
The statement read in part, “A newly posted Federal High Court judge was enlisted as boasted by the EFCC prosecutors and informants in the case to assist destroy, remove and deny duly filed court records to reverse the duly filed sworn affidavit of 16/02/2017 withdrawing the complaint against Chief Ambrose Owuru, our national leader and Chairman so as to reverse and return the withdrawn case in order to cover the quest for the prosecution of the named informants/prosecutors, Messers Ikechukwu Eze, AI Arogha and UR Ewoh in the reported N230 million illegal sale of the defendants property at Old GRA, Port Harcourt, subject to litigation in the civil court in Suit No. PHC/2103/2011.
“The said judge in spite of her failure in her duty to protect and inquire into the missing court records vital to determine the matter before her, surprisingly, as observed and recorded court proceedings of 05/12/2017, embarked on what appeared a predetermined, bias and compromised hurried three bench rulings in a highly suspicious manner over contentious issues she had admitted she had not read and acquainted with the facts since the file was only found that morning and the case not officially listed but hand written in ink.
“The suspicion was further aroused in the judge’s open display of interest to cover up for the informant/EFCC prosecutor to pervert the cause of justice over such highly contentious issues requiring due considerations more so when the case was not officially listed and after she had openly stated in court that morning that she had not even read the case files and was not acquainted with the facts of the case which appeared novel to her.â€
The party said it was disheartening that a judge of a superior court would seek to pervert and openly engage in the disregard, and or misapplication of well-established laws in the country which states that in a face of a missing or misplaced copy of the original of a public document, a certified true copy of the original of a public document would be regarded as good and same as the original copy.
“It is very important and urgent that a judicial inquest to probe into this allegations and open abuse of judicial powers and apparent compromise to pervert the cause of justice for personal monetary gains and cover up be set up and instituted,†the party said.
