ABUJA—Despite controversy over the origin of the suit asking that the sum of N1.4 billion and another $1.3 million that was recovered from former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, be returned to the state’s treasury, a Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, summoned Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and its Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, to appear before it on April 15.
Diepreiye Alamieyeisegha
Trial judge, Justice Ademola Adeniyi, also directed the anti-graft agency and its chairman to ensure that they entered their defence to the issues raised in the suit before that date.
The court further directed that they should be duly served with hearing notices in respect of the suit.
It will be recalled that a security expert, Mr. George Uboh, had maintained that he was mandated by the Bayelsa State Government to file the suit to help recover the funds, which were seized from its convicted former governor.
But the Bayelsa State Government had denied ordering the suit, insisting that it never filed such matter before the high court.
Uboh, who is the Chief Executive of Panic Alert Security System, PASS, produced a copy of the mandate as well as series of correspondences between him and EFCC in relation to the seized funds.
In the suit against EFCC and its Chairman, in the name of Bayelsa State, it applied for a declaration that the failure of EFCC to remit the complete funds recovered from Alamieyeseigha after he was investigated and prosecuted and “subsequently trading with the funds by way of funds placement/fixed deposits, is an act of corruption and an economic crime contrary to sections 6 and 7 of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004.”
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