The Federal High Court sitting in Jos, on Wednesday fixed Feb. 28, to deliver judgment in a N1.25 billion damages suit filed by Gov Rochas Okorocha of Imo against the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the EFCC for ”invading and ransacking” his house in Jos.
The Presiding Judge, Justice Musa Kurya, fixed the date after all the counsel to the parties involved in the case adopted their final written addresses.
Okorocha through his Counsel, Mr Markus Saleh (SAN), had prayed the court, in his final written address, to condemn and adjudge the invasion of his home in Jos on May 3, 2017 as illegal, null and void.
Saleh argued that Okorocha’s family members and staff were held hostage during a “search” by the police and EFCC conducted without any court warrant.
He prayed the court to declare the action of the police and EFCC as “illegal, null and void’’ and award his client the sum of N1.25 billion as general damages because there was no valid court warrant for such an exercise.
“We also pray for the issuance of a perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from further doing anything as such in his homes across the country, ‘’ he prayed.
Responding, the counsel to IGP and EFCC, Edwin Inegbenoise and Muktar Ali-Ahmed respectively, prayed the court to dismiss Okorocha’s the application on the grounds that it lacked merit.
Inegbenoise argued that the search was conducted by police officers attached to the anti-graft commission, there was no way the governor should include the Police in the case because those officers involved take orders only from the EFCC and not the police.
He prayed the court to strike all the allegations labeled against the IGP and the Plateau Commissioner of Police who were joined in the suit.
In his submission, EFCC counsel, Ali-Ahmed prayed the court to dismiss the case because it lacks merit since the EFCC has the constitutional powers to search any person’s house or office in the cause of any investigation more so that there was a search warrant obtained from a chief magistrate court.
“My Lord, we finally urge this honourable court to dismiss this case for lack of merit,’’ he pleaded.
Kommentare