Sunday Ejike Benjamin
20 November 2008
The Chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs Farida Waziri, Tuesday asked an Abuja High Court to dismiss the legal suit instituted against her appointment by Chief Gani Fawehinmi.
She argued that only her predecessor, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, has the locus standi to challenge his replacement before the court.
Farida, through her counsel, Barrister Chile Okoroma, said it would be synonymous to crying more than the bereaved for Gani Fawehinmi to be concerned about the issue of her re-appointment more than Malam Nuhu Ribadu himself.
He maintained that Fawehinmi had failed to prove before the court that he was interested in the office of the EFCC chairman or how the appointment of Farida into it, affects him as a person.
Okoroma submitted that being a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is not a sufficient reason to cloth Chief Fawehinmi with the locus standi to maintain the suit.
According to him: "Being a Senior Advocate, tax payer or even a presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party, does not place him on a higher pedestrial over and above an average tax payer, any other SAN, or party aspirants. "I therefore submit that this action is a waste of court proceeding as the plaintiff has no civil right and obligation to be protected by this court by virtue of this suit".
Earlier, counsel to the president of the federation, Mr. Simon Egede had submitted yesterday, that it was evident that Nuhu Ribadu was never re-appointed by the president for a second four-year term after his tenure expired in 2003 and as such, his purported re-appointment was never confirmed by the senate as stipulated in the EFCC establishment Act of 2004.
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