Bribery Allegation: Court To Rule On Rickey Tarfa's Suit Against EFCC March 15

Bribery Allegation: Court To Rule On Rickey Tarfa's Suit Against EFCC March 15

Justice Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday fixed March 15 for judgment in a N2.5 billion fundamental right enforcement suit filed by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Rickey Tarfa, challenging his arrest and detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC).

Justice Idris fixed the date after counsel to the two parties, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN) for Tarfa and Wahab Shittu for the EFCC, argued and adopted their written submissions

The court had earlier fixed February 29 to deliver judgment on the matter but due to fresh evidence adduced by the silk in opposition to an allegation by the EFCC that he offered a bribe of N225,000 to Justice Mohammed Yunusa, the case was stalled to allow the court consider the application.

In the affidavit of urgency deposed to by Tarfa's head of chambers, Segun Odubela, the lawyer claimed that a former employee of the chambers, Mohammed Awwal Yunusa, an indigene of
Kogi state, is the owner of the Access bank account the anti-graft agency said belonged to Justice Yunusa, where the alleged N225,000 was paid in by Rickey Tarfa as a bribe.

Though the commission strongly opposed the admittance of the fresh evidence on the ground that it was an afterthought having earlier admitted on oath that he gave the money to Justice Yunusa as a gift, the court granted leave to Tarfa to file and plead the new evidence.

Ruling on the application on Wednesday, Justice Idris had held that in the interest of justice, a party should be allowed to bring any evidence or material that would aid his case.

The court then adjourned the case till yesterday to enable EFCC file its reply to Tarfa’s new affidavit.

The commission in its counter affidavit, while urging the court to dismiss the entire suit, claimed that investigation has revealed that there is a network of senior lawyers that engage in the fraudulent act of bribing judges.

The commission also alleged that in the cause of its investigation that another Lagos senior lawyer also transferred N750,000 to the embattled Justice Mohammed Yunusa.

At the resumed hearing of the case on Thursday, Tarfa’s lawyer, Ayorinde urged the court to strike out the EFCC’s counter affidavit to the further and better affidavit of Mohammed Awwal Yunusa
on the ground that issues raised in it are extraneous.

Ayorinde argued “This is a case about unreasonable arrest and detention of applicant and not for the respondents to throw in all manners of scandalous allegations. Their response have not really addressed the issues raised in the further and better affidavit,".

The lawyer then prayed the court to look only at the events of February 5, 2016, which led to the arrest and subsequent detention of the applicant and grant all his prayers in the suit.

In his response, the EFCC lawyer, Shittu, argued that it is wrong for the applicant to say that his arrest was unlawful when he is already facing a criminal charge on the issue.

Shittu also submitted that if the applicant was not arrested on February 5, 2016, it would have send a wrong message to the general public that he is above
the law.

“The issue is not that we are suspecting whether the applicant commited the offence but he actually committed an offence by obstructing EFCC officials from performing their legitimate duties.

The applicant hid his clients in his car for over five hours to shield them from arrest”, the lawyer claimed.

He urged the court to strike out the suit.

In the substantive suit, Rickey Tarfa is asking the court to compel the anti-graft agency and his Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Mustafa Magu to
pay him N2.5billion.

Joined as defendants are; the Commission’s Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Mustapha Magu, the EFCC operatives that arrested him, Moses Awolusi,
and the Deputy Director Operations, EFCC, Lagos office, Iliyasu Kwarbai.

Apart from the monetary compensation, Tarfa also asked the court to compel the defendants to release his two mobile handsets allegedly collected from him on Friday, February 5, 2016 at their Ikoyi office
in Lagos.

He stated that EFCC intended to destroy all information, data and other retrievable materials stored in the two handsets.

He also sought an order urging the court to direct the defendants to release his Mercedes Benz SUV with registration No. KJA 700CG unlawfully seized from him.

The Senior Advocate also asked the court to order EFCC, Magu and two other defendants to publicly apologize to him in at least two widely circulated national newspapers, social media and the Nigerian
Television Authority (NTA) as well as Channels Television within 24 hours from the day of the judgment of the suit.

Besides, he asked for an order of perpetual injunction restraining all the defendants and their agents from further violating his rights.