26th June, 2013
Nnamdi Felix / Abuja
Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi of an Abuja High Court on Wednesday, quashed a 62 count charge brought against Senator Nicholas Ugbane, Ndudi Elumelu and Jibo Mohammed, discharged and acquitted them.
The legislators were first arraigned in 2009 before a sister court presided over by Justice Abimbola Banjoko over an alleged abuse of office as federal legislators in the controversial N5.2 billion Rural Electrification Agency’s contracts in 2009.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, slammed the 62 count criminal charge against them wherein they were alleged to have participated in the contract scam.
Justice Oniyangi held that the proof of evidence filed by the anti graft agency did not disclose any prima facie case against the lawmakers as there was no nexus between them and the alleged crimes.
He also flayed the leave granted to the EFCC upon which the charge was filed and noted that such judicial discretion ought to be granted within the ambit of the law which presupposes that there ought to be a nexus between the alleged crimes and the accused persons before they would be called to take a plea.
The judge held that there was no basis for the leave initially granted the EFCC to arraign the lawmakers.
“Granting leave is an act of judicial discretion and should not be exercised arbitrarily; it must be done within the ambit of the law”
Ugbane and Elumelu, both former chairmen Senate and House Committee on Power respectively were re-arraigned before Justice Oniyangi in January following the re assignment of the case by the former Chief Judge of the FCT High Court following the withdrawal of Justice Banjoko from handling the matter.
Specifically, the anti-graft agency alleged that the lawmakers influenced the award contracts and citing of Rural Electrification Agency, REA’s grid extension and solar electricity projects in some constituencies through the agency’s amended 2008 budget.
But the judge dismissed the claim and held that the lawmakers were neither members of the REA tenders board nor members of staff of the organization.
Elumelu’s lawyer, Mr. Patrick Ikwueto had earlier applied for the quashing of the charge on the ground that his client cannot be charged to court for carrying out his normal legislative duties in the passage of the appropriation bill which the President signed into law by virtue of the Legislative House Privileges Act.
Furthermore, Ikwueto argued that the claim by the EFCC that Elumelu selected the location for siting his constituency project in his constituency did not amount to a crime for the project was his constituency project and he represents his constituency at the House of Representatives. He urged the court to discharge and acquit his client of all the charges as he was not a member of the Agency’s Tenders’ Board which was responsible for awarding the contracts.
Lawyers representing Ugbane and Mohammed, Mr. Okoro and Mr. Abubakar respectively aligned with the submissions of Ikwueto in their call for the charges against their clients to be quashed.