Ike Ekweremadu, the embattled former vice president of the senate, claimed on Thursday before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was to blame for his difficulties while he was being held in detention in London for alleged organ harvesting.
The Senator, who has been detained in London over an alleged organ harvest, claimed before the Federal High Court that the EFCC sent a letter to the London court, which prevented the foreign court from granting him bail, and that the letter was the reason for his detention.
The charges made by Ekweremadu were included in an application he submitted to a Nigerian court, asking the judge to throw aside an interim decision that had been made in favor of the Federal Government, forfeiting 40 of his assets both inside and outside of Nigeria.
UPDATE: Court To Decide On Ekweremadu’s Seized Properties
The ex-Deputy Senate President stated in the application submitted by his attorney, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), that the EFCC withheld information and facts pertaining to the assets, hence the forfeiture order was improperly issued to the Federal Government.
The imprisoned Senator said, specifically, that the EFCC had deceitfully secured the forfeiture judgment for the government by hiding the fact that the 40 properties were the subject of an inquiry dating back to 2008.
He claimed that the EFCC knew he was being held in London when the application for forfeiture of the properties was made and contended, among other things.
He said that the anti-graft organization purposefully chose not to inform the court of his detention in London so that they could not challenge the request for forfeiture.
UPDATE: Ike Ekweremadu Set To Lose Dubai, US, UK Houses
Therefore, Ekweremadu asked the court to reverse the forfeiture ruling and halt further action in the case until he is finished with his struggle with the London Court.
Silvanus Tahir (SAN), the EFCC’s attorney, refuted claims that the organization was responsible for Ekweremadu’s suffering.
He acknowledged that the EFCC wrote the London Court in response to a specific request, but insisted that sharing material that would be useful to one another was usual for anti-graft organizations.
Tahir vigorously opposed the plea to set aside the forfeiture order but did not object to the request for a stay of the proceedings until Ekweremadu had properly resolved his case before the London Court.
After hearing the arguments from the parties, Justice Ekwo set the date for the decision as January 25 of the next year.
Ohanaeze Criticises Decision About Ekweremadu’s Temporary Asset Forfeiture
The Court had on Friday, November 4 ordered the temporary confiscation of 40 lands associated with Ekweremadu in several regions of the nation and abroad.
The order was made by Justice Ekwo in response to an ex-parte motion submitted and brought by Ibrahim Buba, an EFCC counsel.
The Judge, who granted the request, ordered the EFCC to publish the interim forfeiture order of the property within seven days in a national daily.
He had directed anyone with an interest in the forfeited property to explain why the property should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government within 14 days of the publication of the interim forfeiture order.
Senetor Ike Ekweremadu In Double Trouble
The impacted properties included 10 property in Enugu, three in the United States of America, two in the UK, one in Lagos, nine in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and 15 located in the Federal Capital Territory.
Follow us on Facebook
Post Disclaimer
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author and forum participants on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Anaedo Online or official policies of the Anaedo Online.