4 July 2009
Lagos — A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday ordered the immediate release of Mr. Johnson Salako, Mobitel's Chief Executive Officer by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commi-ssion (EFCC).
The court order came following the EFCC's unlawful arrest and detention of Mr. Salako on June 25. Following his arrest, Mobitel Nigeria sued the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for infringement on Salako's fundamental rights and his continued harassment and detention.
The suit also sought for Salako's immediate release from the commission's detention and an injunction restraining the EFCC from further harassing, arresting or detaining him and any intention to harass and arrest Mr. Akisanya, Mobitel's Chairman, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
As at press time, EFCC was unable to provide any evidence of the said court order which it had claimed as its authority for the arrest and detention of the Mobitel chieftain.
Meanwhile, the company has re-iterated that the arrest of Salako by operatives of the EFCC was unnecessary, illegal and a blatant disregard of the law and the constitutional rights of the individual.
Okon Iyanam, Mobitel's Chief Commercial Officer said, "our President & CEO ought not to have been arrested in the first place, much less detained without rational or justifiable cause." This decision by the Abuja High Court is a victory for the rule of law and due process."
A situation where an organ of government begins to arrest innocent citizens and detain them for lengthy periods without any basis in law portends grave danger for our dear country. EFCC can not be above the law, Salako's release today (yesterday) at the instance of the High Court in Abuja must be celebrated as a clear judicial statement against arbitrariness and impunity." Following the recent tussle between the Minister of Information and NCC on the issue of the recent bid rounds for the 2.3 GH spectrum license and commented that the resultant power-play which culminated in the unlawful arrest and the subsequent involvement of the EFCC, industry watchers have detention of the Mobitel boss may have sent negative signals to other credible local and foreign entrepreneurs keen to invest in Nigeria's fast-growing Telecoms sector.
Industry players who have been severely shocked by the way the Mobitel matter has been handled have expressed fears over EFCC's continuous use of Gestapo tactics in its dealings on this matter and are asking President Umaru Yar'adua to intervene in order to avoid sending the wrong signals to the international community. Presently and immediately following his release late yesterday evening, Mr. Salako is receiving medical attention after being denied access to his doctor during the period of his unlawful incarceration.
The detention of Mr Salako by the EFCC came as a result of allegations that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) acted wrongly in granting the former management of Mobitel a waiver over its outstanding fiduciary responsibilities to the Federal Government. In detaining Salako, the EFCC acted in complete disregard of a recent NCC submission to the Mrs Farida Waziri-led agency, which clearly stated that after due reconciliation of Mobitel case files 'it became apparent that the company (Mobitel) had been over-billed and had already over paid its debts.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
