N2billion Money Laundering: Court Throws out Maina’s Suit against EFCC.

Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja on Friday, March 20, 2020, threw away the suit filed against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, by Common Input Properties Investment Limited owned by the former Chairman, the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina.

Maina, along his company, is being prosecuted by the EFCC over a fraud of N2billion. The Commission had marked and sealed the company in the course of investigation.

But the company approached the court, seeking the leave of the court to restrain the EFCC, its officers, representatives or any affiliate to unseal the property and restrain the EFCC and other security agencies from the property until it sought judicial intervention or leave of court, which the Company considered to be unlawful.

The defendant in the originating summon further applied for a perpetual injunction concerning the matter and demanded the sum of N100 million as damages from EFCC.

The prosecution counsel, M.S Abubakar, had argued that the EFCC is mandated by the Establishment Act 2004, as amended and Section 4, of the Police Act of 2004 in exercising its special powers.

In his judgement, Justice Abang, described the suit as abuse of court processes. He said that approaching his court to adjudicate over the matter when a High Court order was pending is an act to circumvent the order of another court. He, thereafter, considered the strategy as, “improper use of judicial process calculated to undermine existing order of the court”.

He said. “The act is unlawful, abuse of court process and it lacks merit. The court in its judgement dismissed the suit and awarded a fine of N50,000 to Commission.