CHAIRMAN of Bi-Courtney Services Ltd, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN) Wednesday urged an Ikeja High Court, Lagos to quash the N4.7 billion charge preferred against him and four others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In his submission, Babalakin's counsel, Chief Lateef Fagbemi, urged the court to quash the charges on the ground that the Lagos State Criminal Code Law and Criminal Procedure Law under which the fiat to prosecute his client was obtained has been repealed.
He contended that a fiat obtained in 2003 under a law that has been repealed cannot be used to prosecute his client for an alleged offence in 2012.
Also, Mr. Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), counsel to second defendant, Alex Okoh, urged the court to strike out the charge on the ground that the proof of evidence does not support the information filed by the EFCC against his client.
He contended that the EFCC has not shown that the alleged money for which his client is being prosecuted along with others is a proceed of any particularly proven crime.
The defence further argued that the EFCC did not follow the right procedure in filing the charges against their clients.
In his separate responses to the defendants' arguments, the EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Jacob (SAN), urged the court to disregard the arguments and uphold the charges against the defendant.
Jacob, who contended that the right procedure was followed in filing the charge, argued that the power to prosecute offences, except court martial has been invested on the EFCC by the constitution.
The Guardian