Court of Appeal upholds N12m damages against EFCC over Ubani’s detention

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) challenging a judgement awarding Monday Ubani, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), N12 million in compensation for his unlawful detention in 2019.

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Delivering judgement on the appeal on Thursday, a three-member panel of judges unanimously upheld the award.

The appellate court also ordered the commission to pay N300,000 in costs, according to a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday.

Mr Ubani, a lawyer and former vice-president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), was not yet a SAN when the EFCC detained him in March 2019. He attained the rank in 2024.

How the dispute began

The dispute began after the EFCC declared Ngozi Olejeme, a former chairperson of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), wanted over allegations of financial crimes relating to her time at the agency.

Mr Ubani said he helped persuade her to return to Nigeria to answer the allegations. She was subsequently granted administrative bail, with him and former Senator Christopher Enai standing as sureties.

A surety guarantees that a person granted bail will comply with the conditions of their release, including appearing when required by investigators or a court.

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However, the EFCC later said it could no longer reach Ms Olejeme and demanded that her sureties produce her. The commission arrested Mr Ubani and Mr Enai in March 2019.

Mr Ubani maintained that he was not responsible for her disappearance. He said he had helped bring her back to Nigeria and questioned why the commission held him responsible after its operatives visited her home and could no longer reach her.

Later that month, Judge Sylvanus Oriji of the FCT High Court in Apo ordered the EFCC to charge the two men in court or release them on bail. The judge also granted them bail subject to conditions.

However, the commission did not comply with the order by the deadline, prompting their lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, also a SAN, to initiate contempt proceedings against the then acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu.

In January 2022, Judge Oriji ruled that the EFCC’s arrest and detention of Mr Ubani violated his fundamental rights.

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The judge held that a surety could be required to show cause or forfeit the bail bond if the person for whom they stood surety could not be produced, rather than being arrested and detained.

Consequently, he declared the detention illegal and awarded Mr Ubani N12 million in damages but declined to order the EFCC to issue a public apology.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, the commission appealed to the Court of Appeal, challenging the trial court’s jurisdiction and the amount awarded as compensation.

The appellate court has now dismissed the appeal and upheld the trial court’s jurisdiction.