A Federal Capital Territory High Court, on Tuesday, said it will return the case file involving a former attorney general of the federation and minisyter of justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, to the Chief Judge of the court, after the expiration of the 14 days allowed for Adoke’s detention.
Justice Othman Musa had allowed an ex-parte application for Adoke’s detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on December 20.
The order is billed to expire on January 2.
Justice Musa sent the ex-AGF’s bail application to the Chief Judge of the court, Justice Ishaq Bello, for reassignment to the other judge of the court before whom charges had already been filed against the ex-AGF.
The judge decided to return the case file after hearing a bail application brought by Mr Adoke’s lawyers led by Benson Ignanoi from the chambers of Adoke’s lead counsel, Mr. Mike Ozekhome.
Igbanoi had urged Justice Musa, who sits as the court’s vacation judge to adjourn the hearing till January 2.
But the EFCC’s counsel, Mr. Bala Sanga, noted that it was better to have the application sent back to the judge handling the pending criminal charges since the vacation of the court’s judges would end soon.
The judge agreed with Sanga, noting that since the 20-day detention order he issued on December 20 would end on January 2, and other judges of the court would resume from their vacation on January 6, “the appropriate order to make is to remit the case file back to the chief judge for reassignment to another judge.”
Adoke was held for over a month in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, following a request by the EFCC through INTERPOL before he returned to Nigeria on December 19.
The former minister, who had been on a self-imposed exile since 2015, has pending criminal charges brought against him by the commission for his alleged role in the scandal that followed the granting of the Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245 to Shell and ENI.
The controversial contract had resulted in the payment of $1.1 billion dollars to accounts controlled by an ex-convict and former petroleum minister, Dan Etete by Shell and ENI
Adoke has denied any wrongdoing in the matter.
