Rochas Okorocha, the embattled former governor of Imo State and presidential hopeful, has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday to declare the search on his residence by EFCC officials as unlawful and unconstitutional.
Okorocha, who is a member of the National Assembly representing Imo West Senatorial District, has also requested N1 billion in damages from the Federal Government for the invasion of his Abuja house on May 24, 2022.
The EFCC and Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), were listed as first and second respondents in a basic human rights enforcement suit brought by constitutional lawyer and human rights activist Mike Ozekhome (SAN).
JUST IN: EFCC Arrest Rochas Okorocha In Abuja
Okorocha now has five Senior Advocates of Nigeria to defend him, thanks to the hiring of Ozekhome.
Ozekhome’s suit was submitted just hours after he appeared in Federal High Court in Abuja, where he pleaded not guilty to the EFCC’s allegations of N2.9 billion in corruption.
The unjustifiable siege of Okorocha’s residence at No. 3 Nyasa Close, Mississippi, off Ontario Crescent on May 24, 2022, deprives him of his constitutional right to privacy, according to Ozekhome.
He also wants the court to issue an injunction requiring the respondents to apologize in at least three major publications.
Okorocha was accused of diverting N2.9 billion from the Imo State Government House Accounts and the Imo State Local Government Joint Accounts to private entities, according to the 17 allegations against him.
LATEST: Rochas Okorocha Reacts Over EFCC House Invasion
The alleged crime was allegedly committed by Okorocha and a man named Anyim Inyerere using their own firms between 2014 and 2016, when he was the Governor of Imo State.
Despite his rejection of all accusations, Okorocha has retained Okey Amaechi (SAN), Solomon Umor (SAN), Ola Olanipekun (SAN), and Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN) to defend him.
Shortly after the plea, EFCC counsel Gbolahan Latona requested an adjournment from the judge to allow him to gather his witnesses who will testify during the trial.
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