A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo has lifted the remand order that the Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Offences Related Commission (ICPC) obtained against F. Baba Isa, Esq., over an alleged N550 Million money laundering case.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/TheNigerialawyer-WhatsApp-Channel1.jpg")
It would be recalled the ICPC on 20th day of June, 2020 had earlier filed an application before an FCT High Court praying the Court to issue a remand order against F. Baba Isa, Esq., on the strength of Section 293 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, in which the Court granted.
However, the condition precedent to granting such an order is upon consideration of the facts and reasons giving rise to such an application, which were not complied with by the ICPC. Most particularly, a suspect is expected to have been in the custody of ICPC.
In a press release by F.Baba Isa, he noted that the conditions were never satisfied by ICPC which made them to deliberately mislead the Court in granting the remand order against him.
“ICPC went to my house and office to post this letter of invitation on the 19th of June, 2020; a day before that, they had already filed an application before an FCT High Court to obtain a remand order for me.
“Their entire prayers and affidavit was intended to mislead the Honourable Court that I was in their custody; this is because they know that a remand order can only be granted when a suspect is in custody. The section of ACJA (section 293) they premised their application on clearly stated thus. Section 294 of ACJA made it abundantly clear that the Court has to examine the reason for the arrest before granting a remand order but they misled the court into granting a remand order, while the court, thought by looking at their affidavit it was actually examining a real reason for an arrest… an arrest which never happened.
“Section 294 of ACJA made it clear that before a remand order is granted by the court, the court will examine the reason for the arrest and be satisfied that there is reasonable grounds to believe that the suspect has been involved in the commission of the alleged offence. In this case there is absolutely no offence. I simply did my job as a legal practitioner, obtained a valid court judgment for my client, held money in client’s account for my client, carried out client instructions to transfer money and earned my fees. All these are legal.” He said.
“So, when they said it was just an invitation, it is not true. They planned to detain me for 14 days and compel me to breach attorney-client privilege. They had already procured a remand order before they sent out their purported invitation letter. A remand order gotten before arrest is not just illegal but malicious and vindictive. I have also filed a motion before the same court to vacate the said remand order and restrain them from arresting me pending the determination of the originating summons challenging their invitation.” He added.
On the above premise, the FCT High Court has vacated the initial order it granted to the ICPC to detain him. Furthermore, the Court has declined to issue a new order.
TheNigeriaLawyer recalls that controversies still continue to trail the face off between the ICPC and Mr. F. Baba Isa, most especially on the invitation extended to him by the former in which he has declared not to honour their invitation.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR LAWYERS: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE
Reimagine your practice with the power of AI “...this is the only Nigerian book I know of on the topic.” — Ohio Books Ltd
Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe, Esq., ACIArb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director, Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
Bonus:
Get a FREE eBook titled “How to Use the AI in Legalpedia and Law Pavilion” with every purchase.
How to Order: 📞 Call, Text, or WhatsApp: 08034917063 | 07055285878 📧 Email: benadigwe1@gmail.com 🌐 Website: www.benadigwe.com
Ebook Version: Access directly online at: https://selar.com/prv626
________________________________________________________________________ The Law And Practice Of Redundancy In Nigeria: A Practitioner’s Guide, Authored By A Labour & Employment Law Expert Bimbo Atilola
_______________________________________________________________________
[A MUST HAVE] Evidence Act Demystified With Recent And Contemporary Cases And Materials
