By Ken Afor
Willie Obiano, a former governor of Anambra state, has said that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lacks the power to inquire about how the security vote funds allocated to the state are being distributed or spent.
In the continued hearing of the N4 billion money laundering charge, the former governor also challenged the jurisdiction of a Federal High Court in Abuja to hear the case filed against him by the EFCC.
In the motion he submitted, requesting the court to dismiss the nine-count charge, Obiano argued that Anambra State has an ongoing appeal where it is contesting the authority of the EFCC to investigate the utilization of its security votes.
Obiano said: “The subject matter of the charge borders on accountability for security vote funds.
“There is an appeal filed by the Anambra state government challenging the powers of EFCC to investigate the security vote of the Anambra State Government.
“The honourable court lacks the requisite jurisdiction to entertain issues on accountability for security vote funds
“No evidence exists from any witness showing that the defendant passed down a directive for the disbursement of security votes and other funds belonging to the Anambra state government.
“The defendant cannot be made answerable for any purported unlawful actions of officials of Anambra State government as there is no vicarious liability in our criminal jurisprudence.
“No prima facie case has been disclosed against the defendant in this charge.
“There is no link between the proof of evidence and the purported allegation made against the defendant in the charge.
“The thinking and conclusion of the prosecution on the counts arose from speculation and suspicions.
“The preferment of the entire charge is in bad faith. This honourable court has inherent judicial power to grant all the reliefs sought above.”
In light of this, Obiano is seeking a court order to dismiss the charge, arguing that it constitutes a blatant misuse of the judicial process and undermines the integrity of the criminal justice system.
He is also seeking “an order quashing the charge for non-disclosure of a prime facie case, being vague and devoid of precision in respect of all the nine count charges.”
During the court session on Thursday, the prosecution’s lawyer, Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), acknowledged receiving the defendant’s motion.
Tahir stated that he has responded to it, mentioning that although he couldn’t serve the defendant with his counter affidavit earlier, he has now been able to do so.
However, the defense lawyer, Patrick Ekwueto (SAN), asked for more time to respond to the prosecution’s counter affidavit.
In response, Justice Inyang Ekwo granted the defendant two days to file and serve its reply to the EFCC and scheduled the next hearing for March 13.
In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/15/2024, the prosecution alleges that during his tenure between March 2014 and March 2022, Obiano transferred funds indirectly from the Anambra State Government’s security vote account, using them for purposes unrelated to addressing security issues in the state.
