Mike Ozekhome, SAN, counsel to former Mohammed Bello Adoke, former Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, has condemned his arrest and detention.
A Federal Capital Territory, High Court, FCT, sitting in Maitama, on Friday ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to detain Adoke, for 14 days.
Justice Othman Musa held that Adoke should be held in custody pending investigation.
The judge gave the order while granting an ex-parte motion moved by EFCC’s lawyer, Fatima Mustapha to that effect.
Operatives of the commission had picked up Adoke at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja upon his arrival from Dubai.
In his statement, Ozekhome said it was surprising that the EFCC obtained a two week detention order to keep his client.
He said the former minister was charged to court since 2017, even in absentia, while he was in the Netherlands pursuing his masters degree in International law.
“This is a man they forwarded his charges to the UAE and Interpol authorities, with a view to preventing them from releasing him, based on the said existing charges.This step led to a legal stalemate, since the UAE and Interpol authorities would not, and could never have extradited Adoke based on a non- existent warrant of arrest”, the lawyer wrote.
“This is because the earlier warrant of arrest issued against him in April, 2019, had since been vacated by the same Justice D. Z. Senchi that earlier issued it, on 25th October, 2019, after heated court argument between government lawyers and my humble self.
“Adoke, therefore, elected to return to Nigeria voluntarily, purchasing his own ticket by himself, and signing as such, accordingly. I had issued a statement to the effect that Adoke was on his way back to Nigeria and would report to the EFCC with lawyers from my office upon his arrival.
“It was therefore a matter of great surprise that the Interpol still arrested him upon arrival and handed him over to the EFCC. Rather than the EFCC immediately arraigning him before a court based on charges already preferred against him even in absentia, it has resorted to obtaining an ex parte order from the FCT High Court, to detain him for two weeks.
“We don’t want to believe that Adoke will be persecuted rather than prosecuted. The last time I checked, cases are first thoroughly investigated before a suspect is charged to court as has been done in the Adoke matter. Of what use is his present incarceration meant to achieve? Is it meant to subdue him? Punish him?
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“Wear him out mentally, physically, spiritually, psychologically and psychically? Deny him justice? Subject him to public ridicule, derision, odium and obloquy? Is it meant to negatively put him in the public domain, try him, convict him and sentence him, through media trial?
“All these will neither help the course of justice, nor promote constitutional democracy, with its corollary in-built safety valves of advancing inalienable human rights and liberties as recognised by extant national, sub-regional, regional and international civil rights instruments.
“We humbly appeal to the EFCC to accord Adoke administrative bail to take care of his poor health, the very reason he had gone to Dubai. In the event that this fails, we shall immediately take legal steps to vacate this ex parte order, with a view to protecting our client’s rights and securing his liberty,” he added
THE SUN, NIGERIA
