Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out two separate suits filed by former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and others.
Gatekeepers News reports that Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a short ruling on Wednesday, struck out the suits for lack of diligent prosecution.
Upon resumed hearing in the matters, neither Saraki’s lawyer nor the defendants’ counsel were in court for the proceeding.
Justice Ekwo, therefore, held that he found that the cases were not diligently prosecuted.
The Judge consequently struck them out for lack of diligent prosecution.
Saraki, the applicant, had filed the suits marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/507/2019 and FHC/ABJ/CS/508/2019 at the FHC.
In the suits, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Inspector-General of Police, and State Security Service are the first to third defendants respectively.
Others are EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, and Code of Conduct Bureau as fourth to sixth respondents respectively.
Saraki had filed the suits following the EFCC’s decision in 2019 to probe Saraki’s earnings between 2003 and 2011 when he was governor of Kwara.
The EFCC was reported to have seized some of his houses in the Ikoyi area of Lagos then.
However, the ex-senate president, on May 10, 2019, filed two separate suits before Justice Taiwo Taiwo (retd) to challenge the action of the EFCC.
Justice Taiwo, who was the presiding judge then, ruled on an ex-parte application filed along with the substantive suits.
The judge ordered the anti-corruption agency (fourth respondent) and the other five respondents to the suits to stay action on the probe pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed by the applicant.
The order was granted after Saraki’s lawyer, Sunday Onubi moved the application on May 14, 2019.
Meanwhile, the court had directed the parties to maintain the status quo by suspending the probe.
Nevertheless, the anti-graft agency later applied that the judge should recuse himself and the matter be transferred to another court.
Justice Taiwo sent back the case file to the Chief Judge and the matter was reassigned to Justice Anwuli Chikere for adjudication.
On July 14, 2021, when the matter came up before Justice Chikere, EFCC Counsel, Chile Okoronkwo, complained that Taiwo’s order had hindered the agency “from performing its duty for about two years now.”
Okoronkwo, who stated that Saraki continued to hinge on the order of the court any time he was invited, urged the court to vacate the order.
The suits were, however, reassigned to Justice Ekwo following Chikere’s retirement.
