| NEWS
|
National
Metro
Africa
World
Business
|
|
|
| OPINION
|
Editorial
Columnists
Contributors
Letters
Cartoons
Discussions
Outlook
|
|
|
| SPORTS
|
Home
Abroad
Golf Weekly
Results
|
|
|
| FEATURES
|
Focus
Policy & Politics
Arts
Media
Science
Natural Health
Law
Education
Weekend
Friday Review
Executive Briefs
Fashion
Food & Drink
Auto Wheels
Friday Worship
Saturday Magazine
Sunday Magazine
Ibru Ecumenical Centre
Agro Care
|
|
|
|
|
Court summons Dariye, remands bank chiefs in prison
- Olujinmi faults immunity clause
From Saxone Akhaine,
Kaduna and Emmanuel Onwubiko,
Abuja
AN acid test began yesterday for the immunity from prosecution granted some key members of the federal and state executives by the 1999 Constitution, as a Federal High Court, Kaduna served a criminal summon on the Plateau State Governor Joshua Chibi Dariye.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday charged the governor and some bank chiefs with money laundering at the court, where the controversial clause came up for debate once again.
The court ordered the governor to appear before it on December 13 and directed that the bank chiefs be remanded in prison custody.
Justice Steve Jonah Adah of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday upheld the immunity clause and held that the Code of Conduct Tribunal could not prosecute the governor over related charges.
Also yesterday, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Akin Olujinmi joined calls for the removal of the immunity clause from the constitution.
Justice Abdullahi Liman of the Federal High Court, Kaduna ordered Dariye to come and defend his immunity against alleged charges of unlawful diversion of N1.2 billion meant for the state government.
Some of the officials of All States Trust Bank Plc who were involved in the transactions were refused bail and remanded in prison custody pending the starting of a speedy trial by December 13.
Giving his ruling on the bail application by the defence counsel, Justice Liman directed that the summons be issued on Dariye to address the court on the controversial immunity clause.
"As to the failure of the first accused person (Chief Dariye) to attend the court, I hereby order that criminal summons be issued against him pending his appearance to address me on the issue of his immunity and summon shall be issued to him through the Commissioner of Police, Plateau State," he ruled.
The suit was filed by EFCC against the governor and six other accused persons.
Apart from the governor, who was absent in court, the third accused person, a female and former area manager of the All States Trust Bank Plc, Abuja did not turn up on ground of ill-health.
Others standing trial in the case are the former deputy general manager/regional manager (North) of the All States Trust Bank Plc who is currently a deputy general manager of Liberty Bank Plc; the former managing director of All States Trust Bank Plc and now managing director of International Trust Bank Plc. Mr. Duate P. Ijabi.
The others include former executive director of All States Trust Bank Plc and now managing director of Liberty Bank Plc, Mr. Lawson Omokhodion; All States Trust Bank Plc as an entity; and another officer of the bank, Mr. Adonye Roberts.
Counsel to EFCC, Mr. Chile Okoroma, listed a four-count-charge against the accused persons.
He said: "Chief Joshua Chibi Dariye, being the Governor of Plateau State of Nigeria on or before June 2001 in Abuja and Jos within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, fraudulently presented a Central Bank of Nigeria cheque for the sum of N1,161,162,900 in favour of Plateau State to All States Trust Bank Plc, Wuse, Abuja."
According to the prosecution counsel, the alleged wrongful act was committed "contrary to section 3 (2) (a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Decree and punishable under Section 3 (2) of the same decree as amended by Tribunals (Certain Consequential Amendment) Decree No. 62 of 1999."
He further told the court that Dariye had avoided appearing before the court in Abuja in the past and asked Justice Liman to issue a warrant for his arrest.
Okoroma also urged the court not to accede to the request by the defence counsel, the trio of Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), Dennis Dodo (SAN) and Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN), standing for other accused persons.
He said: "There are documents involved in this case and there is likelihood that if the accused persons are granted bail, they will tamper with the documents and investigation."
Justice Liman reading his ruling with regards to the other accused persons, said: "I think a reasonable conclusion to this application is to refuse it and to direct that the prosecution commence prosecution and proceed to trial from the 13th day of December, 2004 and should close the case on 17th day of June, 2005.
The judge said that if the EFCC delayed the trial, "the accused persons will be automatically released on bail. This is without prejudice to the production of the first and third accused persons whose absence should not form the commencement of this trial."
Section 308(1) of the constitution states:
"Notwithstanding anything contrary in this constitution, but subject to subsection (2) of this section:
- no civil or criminal proceedings shall be instituted or continued against a person to whom this section applies during his period of office;
- a person to whom this section applies shall not be arrested or imprisoned during that period either in pursuance of the process of any court or otherwise; and
- no process of any court requiring or compelling the appearance of a person to whom this section applies, shall be applied for or issued:
Section (2) states: "The provisions of sub-section (1) of this section shall not apply to civil proceedings against a person to whom this section applies in his official capacity or to civil or criminal proceedings in which such a person is only a nominal party."
The constitution provides in section (3): "This section applies to a person holding the office of President or Vice-President, Governor or Deputy Governor, and the reference to the period during which the person holding such office is required to perform the functions of the office."
Meanwhile, Izinyon, the lawyer to the second and fifth accused, who spoke to journalists after the ruling said that there was nothing untoward in the proceedings.
He said: "We made application for bail and the judge said we should go and put it in a formal way, that is in writing; that is we have to come by way of motion."
He continued: "That is normal. The judge can grant application for bail or ally or direct that we put it in writing by way of motion, which we are going back to do. But, the most important outstanding issue is that the time of the trial has been fixed by the court, which is good. We are happy with that because it will enable us to know the stake of the accused persons as far as the trial is concerned."
The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi (SAN) yesterday endorsed the call for the removal of immunity as a protection for 74 public officers. President Olusegun Obasanjo had earlier called for the removal of section 308 of the 1999 Constitution, which grants immunity from civil and criminal prosecution for the president, vice president, governors and deputy governors during their tenure.
Briefing journalists in Abuja to mark the 2004's International Day Against Corruption, which comes up tomorrow, the minister said that the provisions of section 308 of the 1999 Constitution were inhibiting the fight against corruption.
His words: "When a governor is found pilfering, the constitution says you cannot take him to court. As long as we have these provisions there is nothing we can do to governors who are found stealing. We should blame the insertion of the immunity clause on the military government, it is the people who wrote the constitution for the military. These provisions on immunity ought not to be in the constitution in view of recent happenings. Fortunately for us, we have a committee in place reviewing the constitution. The immunity clause is one of the issues we are looking at. We are looking critically into this section because it is working against us".
Olujinmi said that it was most unfair to accuse government of not doing anything to fight corruption, adding: "We have cases in court but defence lawyers often come up with various tactics to delay the trial".
He said that suspects could not be thrown into jail but that due process and fair hearing must be followed. He said that as part of its efforts to fight the scourge, the government in October 2004 signed the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, stressing that the country had since ratified the convention.
Also speaking at the briefing, the chairman of anti-graft commission, Justice Mustapha Akanbi said that the commission was doing its best in the fight against corruption within the available resources.
He said that there must be co-operation among all government agencies for the fight against graft to have meaningful impact, pointing out that never had a serving minister and former ministers been charged to court for corrupt practices in the country. "But this we have done, not to talk of permanent secretaries who are facing charges in our courts," he added.
|
|
|
|
|
| BUSINESS SERVICES
|
Property
Appointments
Money Watch
Market Report
Capital Market
Business Travels
Maritime Watch
Industry Watch
Energy Report
Insurance
Compulife
|
|
|
|
|
