A Federal High Court judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, has expressed serious concerns over the endless claims and counter-claims by the Federal Government and Delta State government that have delayed the resolution of the dispute over ownership of the $15m bribe allegedly offered by former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori to then-Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Since August 2011 when EFCC filed an application for temporary forfeiture of the money deposited at vault of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2007, claims and counter-claims in volumes and in form of affidavits by the federal and the state governments have prevented the trial from progressing to the substantive matter.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, the Federal Government made a fresh application to file yet another claim.
Frustrated by the endless applications, the trial judge pleaded with counsels to the two parties laying claim to the money to allow the court decide which side should own the money.
Justice Kolawole condemned the unprecedented heap of motions and counter-motions, after his anger was provoked by a fresh counter affidavit brought to court by the Federal Government and its fierce opposition by Delta State.
In the fresh motion argued by Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, the Federal Government insisted that the $15m (N2.4bn) should not be released to Delta State as doing so would encourage more fraud.
The Federal Government claimed that the money, if released to Delta, would be passed to Ibori, who is a well-known friend of the Delta State government, in spite of serving a jail term in the United Kingdom for fraud. It claimed to be in possession of several documentary evidences of fraud perpetrated in favour of Ibori by the Delta State government, even after he had left office.
In the further counter affidavit, it also claimed that in 2008, a year after the expiration of Ibori’s governorship tenure, the Delta state released a sum of N50m to him to build a four-bedroom duplex in Warri.
It again alleged that another N50m was released to Ibori in respect of the same purported house project in 2010. According to the affidavit, Ibori never utilised the money to build any house and instead fraudulently moved the money abroad, where he was arrested and convicted with his aides for economic crimes.
Counsel to Delta State, Mr. Charles Ajuyah (SAN), in his fierce submissions, disagreed, saying the burden was still on the Federal Government to prove beyond doubt how the money would be returned to the convicted ex-governor.
He described the claim of the Federal Government as merely speculative and urged the court not to deal with speculations.
Ajuyah further described the Federal Government’s new affidavit as porous and lacking in merit, saying it should not be allowed by the court. He also claimed that the state has its own law, which entitles ex-governors and their deputies to certain privileges by way of pension. He argued that such privileges backed by law cannot be termed as fraudulent by the Federal Government.
The matter was again adjourned to 28th January 2013 to enable the court decide in whether or not to allow the Federal government’s latest affidavit.
