Court frees Okorocha from EFCC’s N2.9bn corruption suit

Sen. Rochas Okorocha was cleared of all corruption accusations brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by Justice Yusuf Halilu of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

After being accused of fraud and corruption while serving as governor of Imo State from 2011 to 2019, Okorocha has now been acquitted of all charges three times.

On Friday, Justice Halilu dismissed the anti-graft agency’s claims against the ex-governor as an abuse of judicial proceedings and exonerated him from the charge.

The court found that it was improper for the EFCC to file duplicate charges against the defendant in multiple courts, especially after a court of competent jurisdiction had previously ruled on the subject.

Infostride News remembers that in a 2021 judgment, Justice Stephen Pam of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had invalidated the EFCC allegation against Okorocha by declaring the investigation upon which the accusation was based to be illegal, unlawful, null, and void.

Following this investigation, the judge ruled that the EFCC could not pursue criminal charges against the ex-governor.

However, after a six-hour siege at his Abuja home on May 24, 2022, the commission apprehended Okorocha and later prosecuted him and six others before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The government of Imo State claimed that they had stolen N2.9 billion from its coffers.

Contrary to Section 105 (3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, which grants the power to recall a matter to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Justice Inyang Ekwo dismissed the charges in a ruling issued on February 6.

Justice Ekwo ruled that the EFCC must comply with the AGF’s September 12, 2022 letter ordering the agency to submit the case file along with its views on the concerns for review.

A court of coordinating jurisdiction sitting in Port Harcourt agreed with Okorocha that the prior order in suit number FHC/PH/FHR/165 between him and EFCC prohibiting the agency from further proceeding on the alleged offence still stands.

The commission was unsatisfied with the outcome, so it went to the FCT’s highest court and filed new accusations against the ex-governor there.

However, Okorocha’s attorney, Chief Ola Olanipekun, SAN, filed a motion disputing the charge’s legitimacy on his client’s behalf.

On Friday, Justice Halilu issued a ruling in the application, finding that the EFCC had no standing to sue over a matter already decided by a court of coordinate jurisdiction, especially in light of a previous court order barring the anti-graft agency from prosecuting Okorocha based on the results of an investigation that had been overturned.

In pursuing the identical litigation in three distinct courts, the judge ruled, the commission was engaging in nothing more than judicial abuse.

Justice Halilu acknowledged the agency’s extensive investigative and prosecuting authority under the law but said that the EFCC needed to learn to operate within the law because it was established by legislation and hence must uphold the rule of law.

The court took note of the fact that the EFCC’s fraud and corruption allegations against Okorocha had been dismissed by a Federal High Court in 2021.

He pointed out that the commission did the right thing by filing an appeal, but it made a mistake by going to a court with overlapping jurisdiction to bring the same complaint against Okorocha.

The court cautioned the anti-graft agency to recognize that litigation must come to an end, saying that nobody or organization is above the law.

“Once a case of abuse of court processes is established, the best thing to do is to dismiss the charge; the first defendant is hereby discharged,” the court ruled.