SUMMARY OF RULING ON APPLICATIONS TO SET ASIDE AN EXPARTE INTERIM ORDER FOR ATTACHMENT/FORFEITURE OF PROPERTIES ALLEGED TO HAVE BEEN PROCEEDS OF CRIME ALLEGEDLY LINKED TO FORMER AGF, AHMED IDRIS- DELIVERED BY HIS LORDSHIP HON. JUSTICE M.A HASSAN OF COURT 36, FCT HIGH COURT ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2023
1. Three Applications were presented to the Honourable Court at different dates from three different applicants as follows:
2. The 1st Application was filed at the instance of Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited which is the 4th Criminal Defendant in a case pending before His Lordship Hon. Justice Yusif Halilu of Court 13, FCT High Court and the 2nd Respondent in the exparte originating motion pursuant upon which the order sought to be vacated was obtained, through its counsel Chief Gordy Uche SAN.
3. The 2nd Application was filed at the instance of Ahmed Idris who is the 1st Criminal Defendant in the pending case before Hon. Justice Yusif Halilu of the FCT High Court 13 and also the 1st Responded in the exparte originating motion pursuant upon which the order sought to be vacated was obtained, through his counsel Chief Chris Uche SAN.
4. The 3rd Application was filed on behalf of Alhaji Balarabe Idris representing his 9 siblings and the entire family through their counsel, Aminu Hussaini ESQ of A.H SAGAGI & CO. seeking to be joined as a respondent to apply to have the interim forfeited properties listed in the schedule of properties
attached to the order as numbers 2, 6 and 15 on ground of the properties being family properties should not have been included in the exparte originating process with which the order was wrongly obtained in the first place. Counsel also laid several grounds before the court to pray for setting aside of the exparte interim order for forfeiture in its entirety.
5. The EFCC on its part argued that in view of the pending criminal charge against the 1st and 2nd Applicants, the court could not entertain the extant applications to vacate its order for interim attachment/forfeiture as doing so would amount to the court sitting on appeal over its own decision. It also went further to challenge the application of the 3rd Applicant for joinder maintaining that the applicant had to be joined first as a defendant in the criminal matter to enable him bring the application to set aside the interim order for attachment/forfeiture obtained from the court.
6. Indetermining the 3 different applications beforeit, the Court realizing that all the applications materially sought the same reliefs, raised two issues for determination.
7. Whether the Applicants have placed material facts tosway the mind of the court to set aside the orders it made for interim attachment/forfeiture of the scheduled properties attached to the order.
8. Whether it is within the court’s discretion to grant applications of that nature.
9. Starting and dwelling more on the application of the 3rd Applicant for joinder and discharge of the order with respect to properties listed in the
schedule of properties attached to the order as numbers 2, 6 and 15, the court extensively analyses the various pieces of evidence presented by the applicant to hold that the applicant has a right to be joined in the matter as a necessary party and that being affected by the order obtained exparte from the court, equally has the right to approach it to set aside the order more so as it has placed sufficient materials showing that the interim order was obtained by misrepresentation, concealment and suppression of material facts by the EFCC.
10. The court held that that the 3rd applicant joined as the 3rd Respondent had placed material facts before it to show that the properties listed as numbers 2, 6 and 15 as at the time they were attached/forfeited were not reasonably suspected to be proceeds of criminal activities of the crimes alleged to have been committed by the 1st and 2nd Respondents, Ahmed Idris and GCMX.
11. However, discountenance with the argument of the learned senior counsel for Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited that EFCC approaching the court for the said interim order for attachment/forfeiture whereas there is a criminal court seised of the matter amounted to forum shopping and abuse of court process, the court resolved that the matter before His Learned Brother Yusuf Halilu is a criminal matter, whereas, the one before it is a civil matter seeking civil reliefs and as such it was proper for the EFCC to have approached it for the Order it sought for.
12.
The Court having considered all issues involved (CONSOLIDATING) and referencing the provisions of Proceeds of Crimes (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022, finally granted the prayers contained in the application to set aside and discharged the interim exparte order it had earlier granted to the EFCC.
(c) ControlTV 2023.
