AN Abuja High Court yesterday gave its nod to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prefer an amended eight-count charge against former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and two others over alleged official corruption and abuse of office.
The other accused persons are former Director-General, Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), Altine Jubrin and erstwhile General Manager, AGIS, Ismail Iro.
Meanwhile, El-Rufai, through his Media Assistant, Muyiwa Adekeye, has expressed his preparedness to defend himself against the allegations, which he said were "manifestly false."
At the last hearing, Counsel to the trio, Akinlolu Olujimi (SAN) and Kanu Agabi (SAN) had filed preliminary objection against the suit, challenging their clients' planned arraignment by the EFCC on the premise that the charge upon which they were to be docked was based on a dead law, which is null and void and lacking in merit.
They also challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter, saying that the ICPC Act 2003, under which the defendants were charged had been repealed and could therefore not be used as a legal platform for their trial.
In addition, the lawyers also argued that the EFCC lacked the power to prosecute them as the entire allegations against them did not constitute financial crimes.
In response, counsel to the EFCC, Adebayo Adelodun (SAN), submitted that El-Rufai and the other accused persons were newly brought before the court on the basis of eight amended charges and urged the court to allow their immediate arraignment.
Adelodun submitted that "as a matter of law and fact, the objection on this ground has become mute, spent and academic by reason that the prosecution had filed an amended charge."
He therefore faulted the plank upon which the defence counsel based their objection to the arraignment with the submission that it was flawed and based on an unreported decision of a Court of Appeal that had been voided by the Supreme Court.
The prosecution counsel said the offences with which the accused persons were charged were known to written laws, stressing that it was not correct to say they were charged under a non-existent law.
But in his verdict on the consolidated motions to amend the charges and the preliminary objections by the defence counsel, Judge Abubakar Sadiq agreed and ruled that "the ICPC Act 2000 is a valid, subsisting and a life legislation which has not been invalidated. I have not come across any judgment or any act of the National Assembly that repealed or voided that act."
Sadiq also disagreed with the defence counsel on their argument that where a law is pronounced void without revalidation, it ceases to have effect and therefore it is incurably bad.
Consequently, the court granted leave to the EFCC to prosecute the former minister.
Source: Court okays El-Rufai's trial over alleged graft (http://ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43095:court-okays-el-rufais-trial-over-alleged-graft&catid=1:national&Itemid=559)