16 December 2022
Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu on Thursday at the Federal High Court in Abuja accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC’ of being responsible for his travails at the London court where he is in detention.
The Senator who has been in custody in London over an alleged organ harvesting scandal told the Federal High Court that the anti-graft agency wrote a letter to the London Court that made the foreign court refuse to admit him to bail.
Ekweremadu’s allegations were contained in an application he filed before a Nigerian court seeking an order to set aside interim order granted in favour of the Federal Government forfeiture of 40 of his properties in the country and outside the country.
In the application brought by his counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo SAN, Ekweremadu claimed that the forfeiture order was granted by the Federal Government in error because the EFCC suppressed information and facts in respect of the properties.
Specifically, the detained Senator alleged that the EFCC fraudulently obtained the forfeiture order for the government by concealing information that the investigation on the 40 properties started as far back as 2008.
Among others, he alleged that the EFCC was fully aware that he was in detention in London when the application for forfeiture of the properties was filed and argued.
The Senator, therefore, prayed the court to set aside the forfeiture order and stay proceedings in the matter until he resolves his ordeal before the London Court.
However, counsel to the EFCC, Mr Silvanus Tahir SAN denied that his client was behind Ekweremadu’s ordeal.
He, however, admitted that EFCC wrote the London Court based on a special request adding that it was a normal routine for anti-graft agencies to exchange information that would be of help to one another.