The
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Attorney
General of the Federation (AGF) have been dragged before an Abuja High
Court over an alleged unlawful detention of a business man, Engineer
Bashir I. Bashir in November last year without trial as well as seizure
of his numerous properties.
Plaintiff
who is challenging his unlawful detention and illegal seizure of his
properties and freezing of his companies’ bank accounts wants the
Federal Capital Territory High Court to declare as unlawful, unwarranted
and un-constitutional his detention without trial, having allegedly
breached section 35 of the 1999 constitution.
In
the fundamental human rights enforcement suit filed on his behalf by a
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Anachebe Benbella Anachebe, the
plaintiff is also asking for a compensation of N250m from EFCC for the
breach of his fundamental right to personal liberty.
The suit marked FCT/CV/22/2016 has one Alhaji Musbahu Bashir and his company – Alhani Investment Ltd as 2nd and 3rd respondents.
He
also seeks court’s declaration that the insistence of EFCC that he must
sign of his N80m worth landed property at GRA, Kaduna to the 2nd and
3rd respondents as unlawful, unwarranted and un-constitutional having
contravened his rights to fair hearing as enshrined in section 36 of the
1999 constitution.
Plaintiff
also seeks court intervention to stop EFCC from forcing him to assign
10% of shareholding of his company – LEDA Greenpower Ltd to 2nd and 3rd
respondents in the suit on the ground that such forceful action breaches
high right to fair hearing.
Besides,
the businessman wants the court to declare that the 2nd and 3rd
respondents – Alhaji Musbahu and his Althani Investments are not
entitled to use their connections with the Instrumentalities of EFCC and
AGF who are 1st and 4th respondents to criminalize a purely civil and
business dispute arising from their joint venture to bid for the Kaduna
Disco.
Plaintiff therefore sought court order
for his immediate un-conditional release pending when the defendants are
ready to charge him to court for whatsoever offence conceived by them.
He
also applied for an order for the immediate release of his
international passport and another order for EFCC to unfreeze the bank
accounts of his companies.
Plaintiff claimed
that the petition of the 2nd and 3rd respondents which alleged “criminal
misappropriation and obtaining money under false pretence” against him
and upon which he was arrested and detained by EFCC on November 7, 2016
was capricious, spiteful, oppressive and most un-warranted.
He
said that he had in September 2016 been first arrested and granted
administrative bail and visited EFCC office severally to aid the
investigation into the petition.
During one of his visits,
plaintiff claimed that the EFCC operatives surprised him when they asked
him to come to terms with the 3rd respondent – Musbahu Bashir “in his
own interest” and thereafter revoked his administrative bail on the
alleged “order from above”.
Plaintiff further
averred that EFCC operatives later informed him that he can only be
released on bail upon producing two Directors in a Federal Ministry and
who must have landed property in the Abuja Municipal Area adding that
the outlandish bail condition later turned out to be mere bargaining to
make him sign off his properties for the 2nd and 3rd respondents.
He
urged the Court to hold that the conduct of the EFCC and AGF is a clear
abuse of power, capricious, oppressive and wanton disregard for his
rights to freedom of liberty and fair hearing.
Meanwhile,
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on February 16,
2017, arraigned Mr Bashir Ishaq Bashir alongside his companies before
Justice S.E. Aladetoyinbo of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT High
Court, Maitama, on a three-count charge of obtaining by false pretence
and cheating to the tune of $1 million.
Bashir
was alleged to have collected the said sum as part payment of a $3
million agreement from Althani Investments Company Limited for the
purpose of forming a consortium to bid for shares at the Kaduna
Electricity Distribution Company. The bidding failed and several
attempts made by the company for a refund of the money proved abortive.
By PRNigeria
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