Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of the Lagos High Court in Ikeja yesterday quashed the N4.7 billion fraud charge filed against the chairman of Bi-courtney Limited, Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN) and four others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Ruling on preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court and the competence of the charge against them, Justice Lawal-Akapo held that the charge was incurably bad and defective.
The trial judge considered four issues raised by the defendants which are: Whether the EFCC can prosecute a defendant without fiat; whether former Delta State Governor, James Onanefe Ibori, is a public officer; whether two prosecuting authorities can jointly sign a charge, and whether the charge on the surface contains sufficient information.
He however, resolved three of the issues in favour of the defendants and only upheld that the EFCC had the power to prosecute any criminal matter in court without fiat.
The EFCC had charged Babalakin and his companies, Stabilini Visinoni Limited and Bi-Courtney Limited, as well as Alex Okoh and his company, Renix Nigeria Limited, to court on a 27-count bordering on conspiracy, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct and corruptly conferring benefit on account of public action.
The anti-graft agency had alleged that Babalakin and his co-defendants fraudulently assisted convicted former Delta State governor, James Ibori, to transfer huge sums of money through various parties to Erin Aviation account in Mauritius for the purchase of a plane.
But, the defendants through their counsel filed separate applications, praying Justice Lawal-Akapo to quash the charges, with a submission that the EFCC, as a federal agency, lacked valid fiat to prosecute them in a State High Court.
The defendants through their counsel, Dr. Biodun Layonu (SAN), Mr. Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), Mr. Roland Otaru (SAN), Dr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN) and Mr. Oladapo Akinosun, also argued that the State High Court has no jurisdiction to hear offences brought under the EFCC Act.
The lawyers posited that all the charges against the defendants were predicated on repealed laws of Lagos State and urged the court to quash same.
They also submitted that the defendants were not properly informed of the details of the offences they were charged for, as stated in the Constitution, adding that Counts 2 to 13 neither informed the defendants the details of the offences, nor did they constitute an offence under any written law in the country.
Meanwhile, the EFCC has faulted the discharge of Babalakin and four other defendants.
According to the EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC will consider all available options, including the right of appeal, after careful study of the ruling.
Babablakin and his aide, Alex Okoh, were arrested in 2012 by the EFCC over accusations that the men laundered N4.7billion from Delta State government coffers on behalf of the state’s convicted ex-governor, James Ibori.
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