The Economic and Fina-ncial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that it investigated former governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, over allegations of official corruption and looting of state resources during his tenure and found him culpable.
It said it could not prosecute him as he had immunity under section 308 of the Nigerian Constitution.
It is challenging the competence of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to outlaw investigation and prosecution of the former governor. It has already filed a counter claim where it prayed for a cost of N1billion against Odili.
The Commission further stated in an 11-paragraph counter affidavit and counter claim filed in the case, where Odili is praying Justice Ibrahim Buba to stop his arrest and prosecution, that after the former governor left office, they again moved to investigate him further over other allegations of graft.
The deponent of the counter affidavit and counsel in the matter for EFCC, Mr. Binang James, averred that after he left office, they again invited him for further investigation.
He said the EFCC was on the verge of taking decisive position on the matter flowing from the results of its investigations when Odili approa-ched the court seeking an order to restrain it from further investigation and prosecution.
“The investigation of the allegations contained in the said petition started on the 5th of December 2006, and by the 14th of December 2006, the 2nd defendant (EFCC) concluded its investigation of the allegations contained in the said petition, indicting the plaintiff (Odili) and some public officers who worked with him.
“The Investigative Report on the allegations contained in the said petition was made on 14th December 2006 indicting the plaintiff and some public officers who worked with the plaintiff,” he averred.
James further stated that “at the end of the plaintiff’s tenure as the executive governor of Rivers State, the second defendant and its agents further invited the plaintiff for an interview concerning further allegations of abuse of office and the looting of the treasury of Rivers State, during his period of stewardship as executive governor, which invitation was honoured.
“The second defendant was on the verge of concluding the second arm of the investigation and taking a decisive position with regards to these subsequent allegations levied against the plaintiff, which were being investigated by the second defendant and its agents, when the plaintiff filed this suit seeking to restrain the defendants from further investigating or prosecuting him.”
EFCC averred that it has special powers to invite a person alleged to have committed economic and financial crimes to answer to the allegations and pointed out that it exercised its powers based on petitions it received on the said looting.
The commission which entered a conditional appearance prayed in its counter claim for a declaration that a Federal High Court of Nigeria sitting in its civil jurisdiction cannot make orders outlawing criminal investigation and prosecution of Odili or any other person reasonably suspected to have committed a criminal offence.
It further claimed that the case where the Attorney General of Rivers State took the Commission to court and obtained orders restraining it from investigating the state finances as it was the duty of the state House of Assembly to do so could not exculpate Odili as he was not a party in that suit.
It further stated that it were already in the Court of Appeal challenging the decision of the lower court which granted the state such an order.
Among other reliefs sought by EFCC in the suit is for “a declaration that all the reliefs sought by the defendant, Odili, who is the plaintiff in the originating summons are incompetent in law and ultra vires the civil jurisdiction of this honourable court.”
It further prayed for “an award against the defendant Odili, the sum of N1 billion only being general damages in favour of the plaintiff in this counter claim- Economic and Financial Crimes Comm-ission”.
When the case was called up yesterday, counsel to the former governor, Chief Adedayo Adedipe (SAN), asked the court to order EFCC not to arrest his client pending the determination of the matter.
Counsel to EFCC, James, said that the Commission had always respected the rule of law and would not do anything to destroy the rest of the matter.
The court thereafter ordered all parties in the suit to file and serve their written addresses as well as any other material they intended to rely on in the suit while the status quo remains and adjourned the matter to November 13, 2007.
An initial move by Adedipe to drop the Attorney General from among the parties in the matter was abandoned as he indicated interest that he wanted him included in the matter. Miss K. Egoyin who appeared for the Attorney General said she was yet to be served the processes and that she was even in court for another case before she ran into the one between Odili and EFCC.
Odili had approached the court for an order stopping his arrest and prosecution as well as stopping the EFCC from making its findings on his investigations public.
Justice Regina Nwodo had refused to grant the order ex-parte and asked Odili to put all the parties on notice before transferring the case to Justice Buba who had handled a similar matter to the present one.