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Nigeria: Ribadu in Court, Denies Ownership of $3.9 Million Mansion in Dubai
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Vanguard (Lagos)
23 July 2008
Posted to the web 23 July 2008
Ise-Oluwa Ige
Lagos
Eight months after he was dragged before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja by two lawyers over allegation of acquisition of $3.9 million sprawling villa in Dubai and another house in Mambilla Street, Abuja worth N200 million with alleged proceeds of corrupt enrichment, the immediate past Chairman of EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu yesterday appeared by proxy before the court to defend himself.
He was represented in court yesterday by Mr Sola Egbeyinka of Femi Falana Chambers. He raised an alarm before the court yesterday that both allegations were untrue to the best of his knowledge.
He added that he suspected some of the ex-governors who served in the President Obasanjo administration whom he indicted of corruption as the brain behind the allegations against him.
He said he was ready to prove his innocence.
Although no worthwhile development took place yesterday in court, Ribadu had already prepared a short defence to the allegations.
The defence in the main reads: "The allegation of corruption leveled by the plaintiffs against me was circulated by them in a section of the print media owned by some ex-governors being investigated at the material time by EFCC.
"That I did not buy a villa worth $3,948,479.00 million at Dubai or anywhere whatsoever. That I did not buy the official residence of the former Inspector-General of Police for the sum of N200 million. That the plaintiffs deliberately set out to scandalize me as the allegation of corruption leveled against me was concocted by the plaintiffs' sponsors
"That the plaintiffs' claim is speculative and without any merit whatsoever," he said.
Two lawyers, Messrs Ogboli Charles and Ugochukwu Osuagwu, had, early in the year, requested the Federal High Court to issue an order of mandamus compelling the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mike Okiro to probe the outgone Chairman of EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu over how he got money, as a public officer, to acquire a $3.9 million sprawling villa in Dubai and another house in Mambilla Street in Abuja worth N200 million.
The legal practitioners also asked the court to issue a separate order compelling Nuhu Ribadu to publicly render the audited accounts of EFCC ever since it was established in the year 2002 to 2007 and submit same to the National Assembly.
In the originating summons lodged at the registry of the Federal High Court, Abuja, the lawyers joined the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) as respondents.
They said they were forced to come to court following the failure by the office of the IGP to act on the petition they authoured and directed to the IGP to probe sundry allegations of corruption against Ribadu.
According to them, they said they made available the allegation of corruption to the outgone EFCC boss and that up till now, he neither denied nor affirmed the allegation.
In their writ presently before the court, they formulated three fundamental cum constitutional issues for the court to determine including:
- Whether the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is under a statutory duty to keep proper accounts, its receipts, payments, assets and liabilities; Whether EFCC is under a statutory duty to submit its accounts for auditing ;
- Whether EFCC has since 2002 complied with the requirements of section 35 and 36 of the EFCC Act 2002 which require it to audit its account and submit same not later than 30 th September each year to the National Assembly.
In the event the above questions are resolved in the affirmative, they wanted the court to grant them the following reliefs:
An order compelling EFCC and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to render its audited account from 2002 to 2007 publicly and submit same to the National Assembly;
An order directing Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to state how , whilst a public officer, it came about the sum of $3,948,479.00k which he allegedly used in purchasing a villa at Palm Beach Estate,
Dubai, United Arab Emirate sometime in 2004;
In order directing Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to state how, whilst a public officer, he realized the sum of N200million with which he allegedly used to buy the official residence of a former Inspector-General of Police at Mambilla Street, Maitama in Abuja;
An order compelling the Inspector-General of Police to conduct an investigation into the allegation of corruption preferred against Ribadu with a view to arresting and or prosecuting him where the allegation discloses a prima facie case of corruption.
In a 15 paragraph affidavit accompanying the writ, the two lawyers said that they are citizens of Nigeria tax-payers and registered voters with civil obligation to join in the fight to eradicate corruption in the country.
They said their status conferred enough locus on them to file the case in court.
They explained that they had earlier written a letter dated December 24, 2007 addressed to Ribadu asking him to render the account of his office spanning five and a half years, a request which they claimed was not complied with.
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They said even though they also wrote the IGP to investigate Ribadu over how he amassed wealth to acquire properties in and outside Nigeria , nothing was done, hence the lawsuit.
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