Court strikes out EFCC’s N8billion fraud case against ex-Governor over agency’s ‘unseriousness’

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been accused of unseriousness.

A Federal High Court sitting in Dutse, Jigawa State, on Thursday, quashed the misappropriation of public funds charges instituted against the former governor of Jigawa state, Ibrahim Saminu Turaki, by the Commission, after the presiding judge said the prosecution was unserious.

Turaki was arraigned on 32-count involving criminal conspiracy, stealing, and money laundering to the tune of over N8billion.

Part of the count read, “That you, Ibrahim Saminu Turaki, on or about 15th July, 2006 at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did conspire with Natural Resources Ltd, Arkel Construction Nigeria Ltd, Wildcat Construction Ltd and Ahmed Ibrahim Mohammed (now at large) to launder the sum of N5,200,000,000.00 (Five Billion, Two Hundred Million Naira ) and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 17 (A) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2004, and Punishable under Section 14 (1) of the same Act.”

But the defendant had in July 2007, pleaded not guilty to all the charges filed by the antigraft agency.

The defendant had also challenged the jurisdiction of the court to try him.

The case was formerly held before the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja but was later transferred to the Jigawa jurisdiction of the court.

In his verdict, Justice Hassan Dikko of the Jigawa court division struck out the case, holding that the prosecution was unserious with the case.