Justice Peter Affen of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Tuesday threw out a charge filed against former House of Representatives member, Nze Chidi Duru by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The judge, in a ruling today, upheld the preliminary objection filed by Duru against the four-count charge and said the filing of the charge was an abuse of court process.
Justice Affen said the charge was filed in defiance of a pending interlocutory restraining order made late last year by Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Justice Kolawole had, by his order, restrained the defendants in a suit pending before him, particularly the EFCC, its Chairman from prosecuting Duru pending the determination of the suit.
Justice Affen said it was wrong for the EFCC to have ignored the subsisting order Justice Kolawole and proceeded file initiate these criminal proceedings against Duru.
The judge faulted the argument by the prosecution that this charge was not based on the First Guarantee Pension Ltd (FGPL) “Draft Target Examination Report” produced by the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), and which had been nullified by a July 2012 judgment of Justice D. U. Okorowo of the Federal High Court.
He said there was no evidence to show that the EFCC conducted a fresh investigation on the case, as it claimed because the nullified “Draft Target Examination Report” formed a substantial part of the Proof of evidence submitted in support of this charge.
Having found that the charge constituted an abuse of court process, Justice Affen made an order quashing it.
The judge also discharged Duru, but did not acquit him. He restrained the EFCC from further proffering any charge against him until the order by Justice Kolawole is either discharged or the case, in which the order was made, is concluded in its (EFCC’s) favour.
The EFCC had in early February arraigned Duru on the four-count charge. He served until 2011 as the Vice Chairman of First Guarantee Pension Ltd (FGPL).
He was alleged to have diverted the payment of the 30% equity shares of FGPL sold to Novare Holdings Proprietor Ltd to pay for land allocations from Lagos State government.
The EFCC also accused him of “knowingly and fraudulently made a false document”.
Before the commencement of trial, Duru filed the preliminary objection, alleging among others, abuse of court process, which the court, in its ruling, upheld.