A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has fixed March 8, 2022, for motion on notice of a fundamental human rights case filed by the Chairman of Ibeto Cement, Cletus Ibeto, against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Daniel Chukwudozie.
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Ibeto (applicant) had dragged EFCC (first respondent) and Chukwudozie (second respondent), before a High Court presided by Justice Boma G. Diepiri in Suit No. PHC/268/FHR/2022, for the enforcement of his fundamental right seeking to prevent the commission from investigating criminal allegations of fraud bordering on obtaining by false pretense the sum of N4.8 billion forgery and criminal breach of trust brought against him by Dozzy Oil and Gas Limited.
Chukwudozie, the second respondent in the matter, had alleged that he was approached by the Ibeto (applicant) to purchase a parcel of land situate at Reclamation Layout Phase 11 Port Harcourt, but only to discover that the property in issue did not belong to claimant and his companies.
The court had scheduled yesterday, for hearing of the substantive application.
However, when the matter came up, counsel for the second respondent informed the court that he had not been served by the applicant.
But, in a swift reaction, Mr. Henry Bello, who held brief for the lead counsel, Onyechi Ikpeazu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), told the court that he served the second respondent on February 3, 2022, at 10:31am.
He informed the court that there is a civil case pending before the High Court of Rivers State, which has been fixed for March 14, this year.
Justice Diepiri, after hearing the arguments of the legal representatives of the applicant and second defendant on service, ordered them to regularize their processes before the next adjourned date (March 8).
Speaking outside the court room, Bello explained that it (case) was a civil land transaction and the second respondent brought in EFCC to intimidate their client.
He said: “So, we came to court to protect the fundamental human rights of the applicant. EFCC has no business in this matter. The law establishing EFCC does not authorise them (it) to dabble into civil commercial transactions.”
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