THE NEWS NIGERIA
The matter, wherein we represent Chief Femi Fani-Kayode (the 2nd defendant), came up on the 25th of April 2023. That is in the case number FHC/L/251C/16, FRN v NENADI ESTHER USMAN & 3 ORS
The court was informed of the judgment of the Court of Appeal quashing the charge in the Federal High Court Lagos on the issue of lack of jurisdiction.
The court ordered that all exhibits be released to the defendants upon our application for the defendant’s passport.
Contrary to media reports these are the facts and this is what happened at the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday.
We wish to state the following in order to clarify the situation and let the Nigerian public know the truth.
It is an unfortunate that the EFCC and elements in the Nigerian media misrepresented the position of the proceedings at the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday in respect of the now terminated criminal case that was filed and prosecuted by the EFCC over the last seven years against our client Chief Femi Fani-Kayode.
Contrary to media reports Justice Isiagwu of the Federal High Court in Lagos did NOT order that the matter should be transferred to Abuja for refiling and re-charging and neither did he order that our clients passport should be handed over to the EFCC.
The Learned Judge simply ordered that the case be struck out and that our client’s passport should be returned to him.
This was after an earlier judgement last Thursday by the Court of Appeal in which the same the same charges against our client had been quashed.
As at today there is no case in respect of these charges in the court against our client and after 7 years of prosecution we are not only grateful to the courts for administering justice in a courageous, fair and just manner but we are also overjoyed at the fact that what can only be described as yet another 7 year ordeal has been brought to an end. It is clear that the interest of the EFCC in the life of our client is obsessive.
They prosecuted him from 2008 till 2015 on politically-motivated, bogus spurious and trumped up charges and after 7 years he was discharged and acquitted by Justice Rita Ofili Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
One year later in 2016 they went after him again and charged him on yet another set of politically-motivated and spurious charges again at the Federal High Court in Lagos and last Thursday, which was again 7 years later, all those charges have been quashed by the Court of Appeal.
It is instructive to also mention the fact that they are prosecuting him in two other courts, at the Ikeja High Court in Lagos and the Federal High Court in Abuja respectively, for again what we consider to be spurious and politically motivated charges.
