By: Felix Ikpotor
A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to pay two officials of the Rivers State government the sum of N300m each as exemplary damages incurred against them by the anti-graft agency.
Justice George Omereji gave the order on Thursday, while delivering judgment in a suit of human rights violation brought before him by the two applicants, Lekia Bukpor, a retired Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government Affairs and Federick Dagogo Abere, the State Accountant-General.
The anti-graft agency had last month extended invitation to four officials of the Rivers State government over alleged suspicious financial transaction involving a new generation bank and subsequently declared them wanted.
The applicants through their counsel, Dike Udena approached the court for the enforcement of their fundamental human rights and also asked the court to award the sum of N500m each against the respondent (EFCC) as damages for the gross violation of their rights.
The applicant held that by virtue of a subsisting Federal High Court and Rivers State High Court ruling against the respondent in 2007 which has not been set aside, the EFCC was wrong in inviting and also declaring them wanted.
Justice Omereji while delivering judgment in the matter agreed with the prayers of the applicants and held that the sole right to investigate officials of the Rivers State government or its financial affairs rests with the state assembly and cannot delegate same to any agency.
The judge wondered why the respondent has not bordered about appealing the subsisting judgments against it but went ahead with the purported investigation even after it has earlier granted an injunction baring it from doing so, stressing that the action of the of the respondent was an abuse of the subsisting order.
He therefore ordered the anti-graft agency to pay the officials N300m punitive damages instead of the N500m so sought by the applicants.
Responding shortly after the court judgment, counsel to the applicants, Dike Udena expressed satisfaction with the ruling, stressing that the fight against corruption must be done within the ambits of the law.
He said the judgment has shown that there is still hope for the rule of law.
Commenting on why the counsel to the EFCC was not present in court, Udena said they were duly served and are aware that the day was set aside for judgment.
