A FEDERAL high court in Abuja on Thursday stopped the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and two
other agencies from re-opening investigations, arresting or prosecuting the managing director of Capital Oil and Gas Limited, Patrick Ifeanyi Uba and his company over alleged involvement in petroleum subsidy fraud.
Two others, who were also perpetually restrained yesterday by the high court order are the Inspector- General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation, who both wield prosecutorial powers over any citizen, individual or corporate, suspected to have committed crime.
The trial high court judge, Justice Abdul Kafarati, predicated his decision on three documents which had clearly exonerated Uba and his company of any criminal complicity in the allegation of subsidy fraud made against them.
The documents included a subsisting February 18, 2013 judgment in suit number: HC/CS/07/2013 which exonerated Uba and his company, a separate clean bill of health issued by the House of Representatives Committee which investigated fuel subsidy fraud in Nigeria and another letter dated February 12, 2013 written by the Police Special Fraud Unit, ‘D’ Department to the Minister of Finance, clearing them.
Justice Kafarati said moving against Uba and his company as canvassed by EFCC in spite the documents exhibited before him would expose them to double jeopardy which is forbidden by law.
The order of perpetual injunction was made yesterday by Justice Abdul Kafarati in his judgment in a fundamental rights enforcement suit marked: FHC/ABJ/ CS/284/2013 filed by Uba and his company.
Uba and his company had argued that it was wrong for the EFCC, IGP, AGF and any other agency of the government to want to prosecute them over the same issue on which a Federal High Court, FHC, in Lagos had exonerated them by virtue of its February 18, 2013 judgment in suit number: FHC/ CS/07/2013 and a report by the House of Representatives committee which investigated the fuel subsidy fraud.
They also relied on a letter dated February 12, 2013 written by the Police Special Fraud Unit, ‘D’ Department to the Minister of Finance, clearing them of any criminal complicity in the allegation of subsidy fraud made against them.
The judge upheld the applicants’ arguments and granted four out of the five prayers they raised in the suit, which challenged the decision by the EFCC to re-investigate the complaint that Ubah and his company were involved in the petroleum subsidy fraud.
Justice Kafarati declared that the February 18 judgment, the House of Representatives’ committee report and the police letter of February 12 “collectively tantamount to a complete and final exoneration of any criminal offence with regard to application for receipt of subsidy payment under the Federal Government of Nigeria Petroleum Support Fund, PSF, scheme.”
The judge declared that in view of the applicants’ complete exoneration from any reasonable suspicion of commission of any criminal offence under the subsidy scheme, the threat of detention, arrest and prosecution by the respondents or any other agency of the government, amounted to an infraction of the applicants’ fundamental rights enshrined in Sections 35 (1) (c) and 36 (5) of the constitution.
National Mirror