The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday struck out two suits filed by former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, at the Federal High Court in Abuja to seek protection against the plan by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe him.
The judge, Mohammed Umar, struck out the two cases based on Mr Saraki’s notice for discontinuance of the case.
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The judge found the notice of the discontinuance in the court’s record on Tuesday.
Mr Umar acted on the discontinuance notice by striking out the cases, while no lawyer appeared for Mr Saraki or any of the parties to the suits during the Tuesday’s scheduled hearing.
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The former senate president had filed the suits following the EFCC’s decision in 2019 to probe Mr Saraki’s earnings between 2003 and 2011 when he was governor of Kwara State.
The anti-graft commission was reported to have seized some of his houses in the Ikoyi area of Lagos then.
However, on 10 May 2019, Saraki filed two separate suits, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/507/2019 and FHC/ABJ/CS/508/2019, before retired judge, Taiwo Taiwo, to challenge the action of the EFCC.
The ex-senate president named the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Inspector-General of Police and the State Security Service (SSS) as defendants.
Other defendants listed in the case were EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) as 4th to 6th respondents respectively.
Mr Taiwo, ruling on an ex parte application moved on 14 May 2019 by Mr Saraki’s lawyers, ordered the EFCC and the other five respondents to stay action on their investigations.
He directed the parties to maintain the status quo by suspending the probe, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed by the applicant.
But the EFCC later applied that the judge should recuse himself and the matter be transferred to another court.
Mr Taiwo then returned the case file to the chief judge and the matter was reassigned to Anwuli Chikere, who has also now retired from the bench.
When the matter came up on 14 July 2021 before Ms Chikere, EFCC counsel, Chile Okoronkwo, complained that MrTaiwo’s order had hindered the agency “from performing its duty for about two years.”
The lawyer, who said Mr Saraki continued to exploit the court order any time he was invited, urged the court to vacate the order.
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But the suits were later reassigned to another judge, Inyang Ekwo, following Ms Chikere’s retirement.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on 25 January 2023, Mr Ekwo struck out the two suits for lack of diligent prosecution.
After the suits were struck out, the ex-senate president, through his lawyer, approached the court for a relisting of the cases.
On 28 October 2024, Mr Ekwo granted Mr Saraki’s prayer to amend the suits against the respondents.
The judge granted the application after it was moved by Mr Saraki’s counsel, Tunde Afe-Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and was not opposed by the defence lawyers.
The cases were recently reassigned to Mr Umar.
(NAN)
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