A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory,presided over by Justice A.
I Kutigi, on Thursday, April 10,2014, dismissed a suit filed by Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu,
Managing Director, Izuogu Motors Limited against the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC,demanding for N200 million damages.
Izuogu had approached the court to stop the EFCC from arresting and
investigating him over a petition filed by Dr.Catherine Okpareke who alleged that Izuogu
defrauded her to the tune of N20 million (Twenty Million Naira).
Izuogu among others prayed the court to declare his arrest and
interrogation on April 15, 2013, illegal, unlawful and a breach of his fundamental human
right and therefore sought the court to compel the EFCC to pay him N200 million as
special damages and N2 million as legal fees.
In the course of trial, the EFCC prayed the court to dismiss Izuogu’s
application as the Commission was not doing anything outside its mandate. The EFCC said
that the invitation extended to Izuogu, his interrogation and subsequent release was a fall-out of a petition sent to
the EFCC by Dr. Okpareke on allegation of fraud. “Everything that was done was within the mandate
of the
Commission”, the EFCC through its counsel, Benjamin Manji,told the court.
In his ruling, Justice Kutigi, while dismissing the reliefs sought by
Izuogu in its entirety, said that the invitation extended to Izuogu and his subsequent
release by the EFCC does not amount to an infringement of his fundamental human
right “because going by the provision of Sections 6 of the EFCC Act, the EFCC has the
powers to investigate economic crimes”.
The judge also overruled Izuogu’s contention that the matter is
contractual/civil and as such is not a matter within the purview for the EFCC.
According to Justice Kutigi, “the contractual element of the matter does
not take it out of what the EFCC can investigate, especially when a crime is alleged”.
On the issue of length of detention which Izuogu claimed was more than 24
hours and therefore an infringement of his right to liberty, the judge ruled that
the fact that the applicant was granted bail but could not fulfil the conditions of
bail cannot amount to an infringement of his right to liberty.
It would be recalled that Dr. Okpareke had on April 2, 2013, filed a
petition before the EFCC titled: “Complaint Against Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu of Obtaining the
sum of N20 million by False Pretence (419)”. It was on the strength of the petition
that Izuogu was invited and interrogated by the EFCC.