Former deputy senate president Senator Ike Ekweremadu claimed on Thursday in Abuja’s Federal High Court that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was to blame for his troubles at the London Court where he was being detained.
The Senator said in court that the anti-graft agency issued a letter to the London court that stopped the foreign court from releasing him. The Senator was imprisoned in London on accusations of stealing organs.
The allegations stated by Ekweremadu were included in an application he filed with the Federal High Court requesting for an order to set aside the temporary order granted in the Federal Government’s favour for the forfeiture of his 40 properties domestically and abroad.
In the lawsuit filed by his lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), Ekweremadu claimed that the Federal Government gave the forfeiture order unintentionally because the EFCC concealed information and facts about the assets.
The Senator who is currently incarcerated emphasised that the EFCC fraudulently obtained the forfeiture judgement for the government by concealing the fact that the 40 properties were the focus of an investigation that started in 2008.
He asserted, among other things, that the EFCC was well aware of his whereabouts when the case for forfeiture of the properties was presented and argued.
The embattled senator claimed that the anti-graft organization knowingly failed to inform the court that he was being held in detention in London and would be unable to contest the request for forfeiture.
The Senator consequently requested that the forfeiture order be reversed and that the case’s proceedings be put on hold until he is finished with his ordeal with the London Court.
Silvanus Tahir (SAN), the EFCC’s attorney, refuted claims that his client was responsible for Ekweremadu’s suffering.
He, however, admitted that EFCC wrote the London Court based on a special request adding that it was a normal routine for anti-graft agencies to exchange information that would be of help to one another.
Tahir did not oppose the request for stay of proceedings till Ekweremadu fully resolve his matter before the London Court but however, opposed the request for setting aside the forfeiture order.
The trial Judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo after hearing arguments from parties in the matter, slated January 25, 2023, for ruling in the matter.
