Date Published: 03/07/10

Supreme Court orders Ex-Gov. Nyame's trial over corruption charges

The two year old ploy by the former governor of Taraba state, rev. Jolly Nyame to stop his trial by the Economic and Financial crimes Commission, EFCC, came to nullity on Friday when the Supreme Court threw out his application and ordered the commencements of his prosecution.

In a unanimous ruling by a panel of five Justices of the Supreme Court, the apex court upheld the two judgments of a high courts and an appeal court which had earlier ruled that the former governor cannot stop his prosecution by the EFCC.

In the ruling read by Justice Olufunlola Oyelola Adekeye, the apex court said while upholding the ruling of an FCT High Court, the appeal court in an earlier judgment in 2008 ruled that the FCT High Court has jurisdiction to try Nyame and as such “there is no basis to quarrel with her findings and that the charge or information is properly before her instituted by the appropriate authority which in this instance she is the federal Government of Nigeria or Attorney General of the federation. There is therefore a foundation upon which can go on with the trial”.

Confirming the validity of the judgments of the two lower courts, the Supreme Court said “on this score, we have before us two concurrent findings of the two lower courts that the charge before the FCT High Court, Abuja is competently before the court and the criminal charge can now proceed to hearing. This court has no cause to interfere with the two decisions. Appeal is dismissed for lacking in merit”.

The EFCC had on July 13, 2007 preferred 41 count charge against Nyame. But in a swift move, the former governor filed an application on October 10, 2007 to quash the charges against him, for failure to disclose a prima facie case against him and for wants of jurisdiction by the trial court.

The High Court subsequently dismissed the application on November 20, 2007 for lacking in merit. Dissatisfied with the ruling the accused proceeded to the appeal court which equally on February 24, 2009 dismissed the application.

Still determined to stop his trial, Nyame proceeded to the Supreme Court to seek the same relief with the Supreme Court ruling, the trial of ex-governor Nyame is said to proceed. Other Justices of the Supreme Court that gave the ruling include George Adesola Oguntade, Mahmud Mohammed, Walter Onnoghen and Muhammad S. Muntaka-Coomassie.