Court strikes out Omokore’s application to recover forfeited properties
A Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos on Monday struck out a suit filed against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, by a business mogul, Mr Olajide Omokore, seeking to secure the release of his properties temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government by a court order.
When the matter was mentioned Omokore’s lawyer Barrister O.Achimiwu told the court that his client seeks to discontinue the matter against the EFCC, he, however, did not states any reason for the discontinuance as there was no legal representation for EFCC. Consequently, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun struck out the case.
In an affidavit sworn to on behalf of Olajide Omokore, in support of the suit, by a legal practitioner Tosin Samuel Alawode and filed before the court by R A Lawal -Rabana SAN, the deponent averred that the allegations levied against Omokore and two companies Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited which he has vested interest by the EFCC are in relation to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited allegations of breach of specific terms of the contract agreement embodied in a strategic Alliance Agreements, SAA, between the two companies and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited in respect of 8 oil blocks.
Under the SAA the companies were obliged to render some services to the Nigerian Petroleum Development company and also remit some monies accruing from the services to the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Petroleum company.
It was averred by the deponent that the contract agreement was on-going and being performed until it was alleged that the companies were in default of certain sums of remittances.
Based on the differences and disagreement over remittances, parties were already in the process of agreeing on the terms of unremitted payment to resolve the issue, when EFCC waded into the matter and said it was investigating the contract agreement, which was contrary to the provisions under SAAs for parties to go to arbitration to resolve their differences.
The deponent further averred that the intervention of EFCC scuttled all effort to resolve the differences amicably. Subsequently, he was invited by EFCC, interrogated and thereafter, arraigned before Justice Binta Nyako, at the Federal High Court, Abuja. The deponent also averred that before the companies entered into the Strategic Alliance Agreement, Omokore was already a successful businessman in Oil and Gas sector and had acquired assets and properties legitimately, Omokore acquired all the assets, properties and documents listed before the court and not from any proceed of illegality or violation of any law, in the course of investigation his residence/office was raided by the official of the agency and under the guise of exercising their power carted away and seized all the items listed before the court, some of the assets, properties and documents belong to his wife while some belong to staff of the companies and his associates, none of whom is being investigated or charged along with him in connection with the allegation against him.
The deponent said he has written a letter to EFCC through his Solicitors Aluko and Oyebode, demanding the release of all the items but the EFCC has failed to respond till date.
Omokore contended that the properties are not and cannot be classified as proceed of any violation of the EFCC Act or any other law such that could be attached having been acquired legitimately before the Strategic Alliance Agreement leading to the allegations.
Consequently, in the interest of Justice and fairness Omokore, urged the court to grant him an order declaring that EFCC cannot under the guise of section 28 and 29 of EFCC Act seize and forfeit his assets to Federal Government.
A Declaration that a dispute arising from an allegation of a breach of contract particularly, failure of a party to discharge his/her obligation and or indebtedness to an agency of the Federal Government under Specific contract Agreement, cannot be classified as a financial crime.
An order directing EFCC to release and return forthwith, all the properties listed before the court to him which were the assets and properties not shown to have been proceeds of any alleged financial crimes on which he is being prosecuted.
EFCC did not file any response. Sometimes in 2016 the Federal Government and two of its agencies, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Ltd (NPDC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) filed a suit against the two oil companies Atlantic Energy Drilling concepts Nigeria Limited (AEDC) and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited (AEBD), in order to recover the sum of $1,762,338,184.40.
Joined as co -defendants in the suit are two Nigerian businessmen Olajide Omokore and Kolawole Aluko who are both Chairman and Director of the two companies respectively.
Peter Fowoyo
