Demonstrating unusual purpose, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) today filed a notice of appeal against yesterday’s judgment by Justice S.B. Belgore of the Federal High Court in which he dismissed the vast corruption charges brought against a former Speaker of the House of Representatives and his deputy. The judge said the two men had no case to answer.
Demonstrating unusual purpose, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) today filed a notice of appeal against yesterday’s judgment by Justice S.B. Belgore of the Federal High Court in which he dismissed the vast corruption charges brought against a former Speaker of the House of Representatives and his deputy. The judge said the two men had no case to answer.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });
At the Court of Appeal in Abuja, EFCC prosecuting counsel, Festus Keyamo, re-affirmed the strength of the case against the former House chiefs, Dimeji Bankole and Usman Nafada, and asserted that Justice Belgore erred in law on various grounds, including the following:
• Even though the accused person was not a signatory to the House of Representatives’ Account, so long as he took part in taking decisions that affected the operations of those accounts the way they were operated, then he was definitely entrusted with the accounts.
• Evidence clearly shows that the accused person was present at meetings where it was collectively “resolved” to obtain loans and increase “running costs”. Without those resolutions, the accounts would not have been operated/accessed in the manner they were operated/accessed.
• Both in fact and in law, the offence of theft can be charged together with criminal breach of trust, contrary to the decision of the learned trial judge. All the ingredients of the offence of theft were proved by the prosecution.
• So long as the accused person had no authority to approve and increase “running cost” and to obtain loans, then their resolution was an agreement to commit an act by illegal means.
• The prosecution successfully established all the ingredients of the conspiracy to commit theft.
The EFCC said more grounds would be filed upon receipt of the records, and urged the Court of Appeal to set aside the ruling of the lower court and to remit the case for retrial before another judge.
Sources at the EFCC have told SaharaReporters EFCC they fully expected yesterday’s ruling because of the arrogant conduct and utterances of Mr. Bankole. Among others, he posed as being above the law, refused to be interrogated, and boasted he would be acquitted eventually.
In a short period in office, Bankole systematically and ruthlessly assaulted the law and looted the accounts of the House.
On November 21, 2011, the court heard how Mr. Bankole and Mr. Nafada unilaterally increased allowances of members from N17 million per quarter to N42 million per quarter, thereby automatically dumping a burden of N60.480 billion annually on innocent Nigerians. Worse still, they took a loan of N42billion from two banks to fund that burden, and diverted the excess accruing from the loan into their personal accounts.
Mr. Bankole used his new riches to purchase choice properties, some of them at giveaway prices. He even “bought” his official residence for just N40 million.
Yesterday, Justice Belgore deadpanned that although it is morally wrong, morally indefensible and morally insensitive for the House, under the leadership of Bankole and Nafada to have increased their allowances, alias “running costs” from N27million to N42million per quarter, per member, it was only a moral wrong, not a criminal offence, and set the men “free.”
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });