COURT SET DECEMBER 12 TO HEAR EMEFIELE’S APPLICATION CHALLENGING JURISDICTION
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The Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has fixed December 12 for the hearing of an application filed by the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, challenging the jurisdiction of the court.
Justice Rahman Oshodi fixed the date after his attention was drawn to a Court of Appeal ruling which ordered him to hear the application.
At the proceedings of April 29, Emefiele through his lawyer, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), submitted that he cannot be tried in the high court of any state in Nigeria for alleged acts of abuse of his office as this raises the issue of constitutionality and legality.
The EFCC through its counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), had however countered this argument and asked Justice Oshodi not to defer or prevent the trial of the case as such approach was intended to negate Section 1 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA and the purpose for which Administration of Criminal Justice Law, ACJL was intended to avoid undue delay in criminal cases.
At the end of those submissions, Justice Oshodi had deferred till the end of trial, his ruling on the application challenging the jurisdiction of his court.
Dissatisfied with this decision, the defendant’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, appealed the decision deferring the ruling and asked the appeal court to direct the trial court to deal with the application which touches on the powers of the court to try his client.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday, the EFCC Counsel informed Justice Oshodi that the Appellate Court had delivered a ruling on November 29 directing the judge to hear and determine the application on jurisdiction before proceeding with the trial.
In response, Ojo informed the court that the defence team had received the ruling electronically and intended to file it before the court. He expressed surprised that the prosecution was tendering a Certified True Copy of the ruling to the court from the bar.
Ojo requested that the hearing of the application be adjourned until the next sitting of the court to allow the defence to proceed with their application.
Oyedepo countered this, emphasising that all parties should comply with the directive of the Appellate Court, as various processes have already been exchanged concerning the application.
In his ruling, Justice Oshodi acknowledged the processes filed by both parties and adjourned the hearing of the application to Thursday, Dec 12th.
On April 8, 2024, the former CBN boss was arraigned before the court by the EFCC alongside one Herry Omoile on allegations of accepting gratification, accepting gifts through agents, corruption, and fraudulent property receipts.
The anti-graft agency also accused the defendant of conferring corrupt advantage on his associates contrary to the Corrupt Practices Act 2000.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
In the application challenging the court’s jurisdiction, Emefiele contends among other things that counts 1-4 of the 26 count charge filed against him by the EFCC are unconstitutional, as they are not based on any existing laws in Nigeria.
He also maintained the court does not have jurisdiction to try the offence of abuse of office related to the position of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria held by the defendant at the time of the alleged crimes.
His counsel specifically asked the court to make an order striking out Counts 1 – 4 of the 1st amended information on the grounds that:
the Honourable Court has no jurisdiction to try the offence of abuse of office in relation to the office of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria which the 1st Defendant occupied at all times material to the commission of the offences and
the 1st Defendant’s/Applicant’s acts said to constitute arbitrary acts resulting in abuse of office are not offences known to the law as mandatorily required by section 36(12) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
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