Skip to main content

Its illegal to freeze Fayose’s account, Ajulo tells EFCC

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose

Dr. Kayode Ajulo, a constitutional Lawyer and former national secretary of the Labour Party has described the freezing of Governor Ayodele Fayose’s account as “illegal”.

Ajulo who was reacting to the Economic Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) order that the Ekiti state governor’s account be freezed said it was an abuse of the immunity that covers governors in Nigeria.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, he said he received the news with shock, arguing that, EFCC has no legal ground to freeze Fayose’s account.

“This indeed came as a shock considering the personality involved, a sitting governor that enjoys immunity till the determination of his office as governor of a State in Nigeria.

“It is the law that to freeze an account, there must be an order of court for the attachment of the bank account.

“It is also trite that for the court to make such order, there must be papers (court process) filed in court and signed by the judge,” he said.

He then backed his argument with the constitution. “By the provision of Section 308(1)(a) of our Constitution as amended no suit can be instituted against Ayodele Fayose and/or any Nigerian governor in any court in Nigeria.

“Therefore, no process of court can be issued, signed or served, against Ayodele Fayose in his personal capacity, whereas the bank account in question is his personal account as such in his personal name.

“Moreover, sections 26-34 of the EFCC Act, established a process to be followed that is, a suspect must have been arrested for his account to be frozen however section 308 of 1999 Constitution, exempted Ayodele Fayose from those could be arrested and his bank account cannot be frozen.

“It behoves on all right thinking Nigerians and law abiding individuals and corporate entities to ensure and insist that EFCC acts according to the law of the land and adheres to best international standard and practice.

He then warned the EFCC against becoming a tyrant. “It should be warned that EFCC is gradually turning into an unchecked tyrannical monster. If indeed Ayodele Fayose has a case to answer, the case of Bola Ahmed Tinubu Vs. Gani Fawehinmi is apt and locus classicus; Therefore, EFCC should lift the attachment on Ayodele Fayose’s property, go ahead to investigate him but wait for Fayose to complete his term of office before commencing his prosecution. That’s the law and it must be followed,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fayose’s media aide, Lere Olayinka has taken a swipe at EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu by posting a picture of Magu on Facebook during a march for President Muhammadu Buhari.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pope not involved in Colombian peace deal- Vatican

Pope Francis Pope Francis has turned down a request to play a role in the peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. The Vatican in a statement issued on Wednesday in in Vatican City said that an invitation was sent to his Holiness in early August to appoint a representative to participate in the committee that selected the judges for the talks. The statement said that though Pope Francis supported the peace process, he, however, reiterated that he would not get involved in Colombian peace deal. It said that Pope was praying for the enlightenment of the hearts and minds of those who were called to promote the common good of the Colombian nation. A deal was announced last week, putting an end to five decades of internal conflict between government forces and the FARC rebels. The agreement, which needed to be ratified through a referendum in Oct. 2, would entail setting up a special court to grant amnesties or pu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Man docked for defiling 9-year-old girl

magistrate-court A 33-year-old man, Godwin Otobo, was on Monday docked at a Surulere Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.For allegedly defiling a nine-year-old girl, ‎Otobo, who lives at No. 10, Borrow Pit St., Sangotedo-Ajah area of Lagos, was said to have defiled the underage girl whose parents also reside in the same compound. The Prosecutor, Sgt. Anthonia Osayande, told the court that the accused committed the offence at about 9.00 p.m. sometimes in September. “The accused defiled the girl in the night when she was fetching water.‎ “The offence contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011,’’ Osayande told the court. The accused pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge of defilement. Ruling on a bail application filed by the accused, Chief Magistrate Ipaye Nwachukwu, granted him bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum. She said one of the sureties must be a property owner in Lagos State, while the other must be a civil servant on grade...
Post a Comment
Read more