EFCC, AGF abandon CCT chair’s bribery case in court

The case has been stalled after the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), reportedly queried both the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, and the private prosecutor engaged by the commission to institute the charges against the CCT chairman, Mr Festus Keyamo. The case seems to have been enveloped by an air of indecision on the part of the AGF and the EFCC after the AGF’s separate queries to Magu and Keyamo, demanding their explanations for filing the charges. While both Magu and Keyamo were said to have in their responses justified the filing of the charges, they have not been able to proceed with the case and the AGF has also yet to give a specific directive for the withdrawal of the case. Our reporter on Friday confirmed from the officials of the particular court in the Jabi Division of the FCT High Court where the case was filed on February 2, 2018, that the arraignment in the case was being delayed by the refusal of the prosecution to indicate their interest to proceed with the case. Our correspondent who was on a mission to the court to confirm whether or not the case had been quietly withdrawn, was told by one of the court officials that, “I can tell you that the case is still in court, but we cannot explain why those who filed it have not come to pick a date for arraignment.” The court official, who would not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the case, added, “The court is always ready anytime the prosecution is ready.” The EFCC had on February 2, 2018, filed the case marked, CR/109/18, accusing the CCT chairman, Umar, of demanding N10m as a gift from a defendant standing trial before the CCT, Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo, in 2012. The anti-corruption agency also accused Umar of receiving, through his personal assistant, Alhaji Gambo Abdullahi, the sum of N1.8m from Taiwo in the same year. The offences were said to be contrary to Section 12(1)(a) & (b) of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2003. The Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Justice Ishaq Bello, initially assigned the case to himself and fixed March 15 for arraignment. But the March 15 proceedings could not go on as court officials confirmed that the case had been re-assigned to Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Jabi Division of the FCT High Court. While the reason for the re-assignment remained unknown, the judge to whom the case was re-assigned had yet to fix a date for the arraignment. The matter is believed to be bogged down with the AGF’s queries to Magu and Keyamo. The AGF was said to have in his query to Magu demanded explanations for instituting the charges against the CCT chairman when the commission had earlier declared that there was no evidence to prosecute Umar.]]>