FORMER NNPC BOSS YAKUBU SUES EFCC, CBN OVER ALLEGED NON-RELEASE OF $9.8m
Read Time:2 Minute, 18 Second
Former Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Andrew Yakubu, has sued the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and one other bank for allegedly refusing to release his $9.8 million following a court decision.
Yakubu brought the lawsuit before Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja through his attorney, Ahmed Raji (SAN).
The originating summons was dated and filed on March 8, with EFCC, CBN and the bank listed as 1st to 3rd defendants, respectively.
Yakubu, who had been accused of money laundering, was discharged and acquitted by Justice Ahmed Mohammed on March 31, 2022.
The EFCC had filed an appeal against Justice Mohammed’s ruling that it had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Now, Yakubu in the suit, asked whether “the court did not become dominus litis of the respective sums of $9,773,200 and £74,000 belonging to” him when same was put in issue, and in evidence before the court between Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Engr Andrew Yakubu, and in respect of which judgment was delivered on the 31st of March, 2022.”
He said if the question was answered in the affirmative, he further asked whether the EFCC ought to still have in its custody his seized monies after a sister-court gave a judgment in his favour on March 31, 2022.
Yakubu, therefore, asked whether the monies ought not to be released to him forthwith, or paid into an account under the control of the registry of the court, pending the outcome of the appeal lodged by the EFCC against the said judgment.
He sought an order directing the defendants to immediately release the monies to him in view of the court judgment.
Alternatively, he sought an order directing them to immediately transfer the said monies into an account under the control of the FHC chief registrar or into an account to be operated by the chief registrar, the EFCC and him, pending the determination of the appeal.
But the EFCC, in a notice of preliminary objection, prayed the court to dismiss Yakubu’s application.
In the motion dated March 20 and filed April 12 by Faruk Abdullah, the anti-graft agency argued that the suit constituted an abuse of court process.
It said that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
The commission said it also relied on the earlier processes filed before the court where it raised jurisdictional issues and urged the court to strike out the entire suit
In the affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Sambo Mayana, a detective with the commission, EFCC averred that most of Yakubu’s depositions did not reflect the correct position of the case.
Happy
100 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
1
0