A Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja postponed two distinct lawsuits initiated by former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other parties.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a brief ruling, announced the adjournment to await the Court of Appeal’s report on the application for a stay of proceedings submitted by the former lawmaker.
When the hearing resumed, Saraki’s counsel, Tunde Afe-Babalola, SAN, disclosed the existence of a pending application for a stay of proceedings filed on July 30, 2021.
He mentioned that all parties had been served and were prepared to proceed. The judge then inquired about the motion for relisting.
“Yes, we filed a stay at the Court of Appeal,” he replied.
However, Christopher Mshelia, representing the EFCC, expressed uncertainty regarding whether the commission had been served and stated he was not ready for the day’s hearing.
Ekenma Okafor, representing the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), indicated that his client had not been served and expressed surprise at the situation, recalling a previous assurance from the applicant’s counsel that they were withdrawing their appeal.
Afe-Babalola, unaware of Okafor’s information, emphasized that the pending motion was the crucial issue.
The judge questioned why a stay had been filed both at the Court of Appeal and at the Federal High Court, raising the point that granting a stay at the lower court might duplicate the Court of Appeal’s duty.
Consequently, Justice Ekwo decided to give Afe-Babalola time to address the matter at the Court of Appeal before returning to report back, adjourning the case until April 18.
Previously, on January 25, 2023, Justice Ekwo had dismissed the suits due to lack of diligent prosecution. Subsequently, Saraki filed an application to relist the cases, dated February 1, 2023, and filed on February 3, 2023, by Sunday Onubi from Afe Babalola & Co Law Firm.
Saraki had initiated the suits, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/507/2019 and FHC/ABJ/CS/508/2019, at the Federal High Court against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Inspector-General of Police (I-G), State Security Service (SSS), EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and CCB, regarding the EFCC’s investigation into his earnings during his tenure as governor of Kwara State.
The suits were initially filed before retired Justice Taiwo Taiwo, who granted an ex-parte application to stay the EFCC’s probe pending the determination of the motion on notice.
After Justice Taiwo’s retirement, the case was reassigned to Justice Anwuli Chikere, and subsequently, to Justice Ekwo.
