on Thursday restrained the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC, the Inspector General of Police, IGP, as well as the Attorney
General of the Federation, AGF, from arresting or moving against the
managing director of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, Mr.
Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, in respect of an alleged petroleum subsidy
fraud.
The Anambra state gubernatorial aspirant under the platform of Labour
Party had dragged the anti graft agency, the Inspector General of
Police as well as the Attorney General of Police before the court
following moves by the authorities to arrest and prosecute him over an
alleged petroleum subsidy scam.
The court faulted an invitation sent to Mr. Ubah by the EFCC and
granted an order restraining the commission, the Inspector General of
Police and the Attorney General of the Federation from moving against
the Ubah and his company over the subsidy issue.
The court's decision was contained in the judgment delivered at about
3:12 pm Thursday in a fundamental rights enforcement suit marked:
FHC/ABJ/CS/284/2013, filed by Mr. Ubah and his company.
The judge upheld Ubah's rights and granted four out of the five
prayers requested by the petroleum importer as raised in the suit.
The oil magnate had challenged the decision by the EFCC to
re-investigate the complaint that he and his company were involved in
the petroleum subsidy fraud and argued that it was wrong for the EFCC,
IGP, AGF and any other agency of the government to want to prosecute
them over the same issue on which a Federal High Court in Lagos had
exonerated them by virtue of its February 18, 2013 judgment in suit
number: FHC/CS/07/2013 and a report by the House of Representatives
committee which investigate the fuel subsidy fraud.
Relying on a letter dated February 12, 2013 written by the Police
Special Fraud Unit, D Department to the Minister of Finance, clearing
them of any criminal complicity in the allegation of subsidy fraud
made against them, Justice Abdul-Kafarati declared that the February
18 judgment, the House of Representatives' committee report and the
police letter of February 12 "collectively amounted to a complete and
final exoneration of any criminal offence with regard to application
for receipt of subsidy payment under the Federal Government of Nigeria
Petroleum Support Fund (PSF) scheme.
In view of these, the court held that Ubah and his company had been
completely exonerated from any reasonable suspicion of commission of
any criminal offence under the subsidy scheme and that the threat of
detention, arrest and prosecution by the anti graft agency amounted to
aninfraction of the Ubah's fundamental rights enshrined in Sections 35
(1)(c)and 36(5) of the Constitution.
The judge thereafter made an order of perpetual injunction restraining
theEFCC, the IGP and the AGF from taking further action with respect
tothe allegation of subsidy fraud which have already been investigated
by relevant agencies of the government, House of Representatives
Committeeand from which Ubah and his company had been cleared of any
reasonable suspicion of commission of criminal offence and in respect
of which a Federal High Court had made a decision.
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