FEDERAL HIGH COURT ORDERS ICPC NOT TO PROBE FIRM CLEARED BY EFCC

A federal high court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) to refrain from investigating Blaid Construction company and Ochuko Momoh, its director. ICPC was also ordered to release assets belonging to the firm.

This was pursuant to the suit, number FHC/ABJ/CS/132/2019, wherein the Abuja based company with its director had approached the Court to resolve the question whether the ICPC had powers to subsequently investigate them after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had carried out an allegedly similar investigation leading to the clearing of the company of alleged wrongdoing.  The construction company had equally sought an order restraining ICPC from further investigating it and one directing the anti-graft agency to “vacate attachments placed on their assets and also erase all inscriptions made thereof particularly by notation “Keep off, under ICPC investigation.”

Giving the Court’s ruling, Binta Nyako, the presiding judge over the matter, overruled ICPC’s argument, saying there were no probable ground to keep holding on to the seized assets of the company. According tot the Court:

“[It] appears that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had conducted investigation on the Plaintiffs and has not found any indictment against them leading to the discharge of the Interim Orders of Forfeiture and it is trite by virtue of Sections 8-6 of the ICPC Act, the commission is saddled with the responsibility of combating, investigating and prosecuting corruption in the public service and also the ICPC Act does not stop the Commission from inviting individuals to answer questions in the cause of their investigations.

“Furthermore, the Defendant cannot post a no debit on the accounts of the Plaintiff and also place inscriptions of ‘Keep off, under ICPC investigations’ on the properties of the Plaintiffs, which have been released by an order of Court more particularly as the Defendant has not placed anything before the court to justify the infraction or to show that it is a new investigation.”