A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja presided by
Justice Olukayode A. Adeniyi on Tuesday 24 September 2013 dismissed a
case of no submission brought by the former governor of Kogi State,
Prince Abubakar Audu and a former Director General of the Directorate of
Rural Development in his administration, Alfa Ibn Mustapha.
The duo who were first arraigned on Monday March 18, 2013 south had
asked the court to quash the 36 count charge against them by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission bordering on criminal breach of
trust and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of
N10,965,837,040 (Ten Billion, Nine Hundred and Sixty-Five Thousand,
Eighty Hundred and Thirty Seven Naira, Forty Kobo)
Audu and his co- accused on 2nd May and 17th June
2013 respectively, filed the separate applications for reasons of want
of jurisdiction, competency and abuse of court processes.
On his part, Audu through his counsel, Mike Ozekhome, SAN further
prayed in the alternative for reliefs of stay of further proceedings of
the instant charge, pending the hearing and final determination of the
two appeal cases pending at the Abuja and Kogi Appellate courts.
In arriving at his decision to strike out the applications, the learned trial judge
maintained that as long as part of the proceed of the purported
crimes were laundered through Abuja based banks, and used to acquire
houses in Abuja, with the accused ordinarily residing also in Abuja ,
the court has the territorial jurisdiction to determine the counts.
The judge also stated that Audu’s argument on abuse of court
process in view of the charges at the appellate courts which his
counsel said was alive,extant and pending was a dissipation of judicial
time because the case had been set aside through a nolle prosequi
filed by the Attorney General of the federation and that of Kogi State
respectively. He concurred with the EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN
that where a nolle is entered in a matter, and before the court formally
pronounces thereupon, a fresh matter which is filed in another court
with respect with the same subject matter, cannot constitute an abuse of
court process.
One of the charges against the duo read: “that you Prince Abubakar
Audu and Alfa Ibn Mustapha between 2000 and 2002 at Abuja in the Abuja
judicial division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory
while being the governor of Kogi state and Director General of Kogi
State Directorate of Rural Development respectively, and in such
capacities entrusted with dominion over certain property, to wit: an
aggregated sum of N2,877, 487,690.88 meant for rural development in Kogi
State committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said sum
which you falsely claim to be payment made to Aresanmi Technical
Industries Limited in respect of the contract allegedly awarded Kogi
State Directorate of Rural Development to the said Aresanmi Technical
Industries Limited and you thereby committed an offence punishable under
Section 315 of the Penal Code, CAP 532, Laws of the Federation of
Nigeria 1990”.
The case has been adjourned to 11 – 14 of November for trial.
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