Court okays suit seeking Okorocha’s probe

A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted permission for the prosecution of a suit which seeks to compel the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to among others, investigate the administration of Rochas Okorocha as Imo Governor.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed, in a ruling on March 3, 2020, an enrolled copy of which The Nation obtained in Abuja on Monday, granted leave for the applicants – Incorporated Trustees of Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International and Rights for All International – to proceed with their case.

Justice Mohammed ordered the applicants to served a copy of the order granting them leave and other substantive documents in the suit on the defendants.

The judge adjourned till March 17 this year for hearing.

Named as defendants are: the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Okorocha, Zigreat International Company Limited, Eze Stanley Enwereku and Duru Cyriacus Onyeobi.

The plaintiffs, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/130/2020, filed by their lawyer, K. M. Okere, are seeking to compel the EFCC to investigate Okorocha and others over sundry allegations of financial impropriety while in office.

They claimed to have petitioned the EFCC in 2019, but alleged that the anti-graft agency failed to act on the petition.

The plaintiffs stated that, by their suit for judicial review, they want the court to order the EFCC to “investigate the allegation of corruption, money laundering, inflated contract, unlawful award of contract without due process and breach of Procurement Act, criminal over-inflation of contracts fully paid for with public funds against the 2nd to the 5th defendants in this suit, as contained in the plaintiffs’ petition dated 22nd August 2019.”