Lawmaker Sues ICPC over Corruption Concealment

Written by This Day Wednesday, 05 May 2010

Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media  and Public Affairs, Honourable Eseme Eyiboh,  has dragged the Independent Corrupt Practices  Commission (ICPC)  before a Federal High Court in Abuja  over the failure of the anti-graft agency to investigate the activities of one Alhaji M.U. Akoyi, Judge of the Upper Area Court, Gwagwalada, Abuja. 
In a 20 paragraph affidavit in support of his claims, Eyiboh sought  and has already obtained an Order of Mandamus from the Federal High Court compelling the ICPC to investigate allegations of official corruption, which was filed against the Upper Area Court Judge about a year ago.

Eyiboh, who represents  Eket Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State in the House of Representatives had in a petition dated June 22, 2009 alerted the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission of a case of alleged abuse of office and official corruption on the part of Justice M.U. Akoyi following his roles in a landed property dispute. 
According to the petition, Eyiboh   in 2007 purchased the said property located in Garki, Abuja upon a contract of sale between him and Messrs Dahiru Sheikh Mujaddadi and Tahir Idris Hadejia, the administrators of the estate  and received the title documents covering the property only for one Alhaji Hassan Muhammed Gusau (a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) to also lay claim to having purchased the same property from the same persons.

Embarrassed by the development, Eyiboh  instituted a suit (No: FCT/HC/CV/1247/07)  at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja  against the said Administrators of the Estate of Sheikh Mujaddadi, seeking declaratory and injunctive relieves. 
The said Alhaji Hassan  Mohammed Gusau applied and was joined in the suit  but soon after, he (Gusau)   in the company of about 14 young men, a team of armed policemen  and a bailiff  from the Upper Area Court, Gwagwalada, Abuja invaded the property in  a desperate attempt to take possession of it.

Part of the petition sent to the ICPC but which the agency failed to act upon reads thus: “The Bailiff of the Upper Area Court, Gwagwalada came to my premises armed with a writ of possession in respect of the property issued by the Upper Sharia Court of Hadejia in Jigawa State; a letter from the Upper Sharia Court of Hadejia in Jigawa State dated 31st of January 2008 to the Upper Upper area Court in Gwagwalada and a letter written by on Alhaji M.U. Akoyi in his capacity as the Judge of the Upper Area Court , Gwagwalada to the Police directing  the Police to aid the enforcement  of the writ of possession.

“Upon the advice of my lawyers, I instructed them to institute an action for judicial review against the said Alhaji M. U. Akoyi  in his official  capacity on the grounds that he acted ultra vires  and exceeded  his jurisdiction by endorsing for execution, a writ of possession issued by a court outside the Federal Capital Territory  and in respect of a property outside his local area of jurisdiction. When this matter came up for hearing, to my surprise, I discovered  that the said Alhaji M.U. Akoyi  was defended by the firm of Yunus Ustaz Usman (SAN) who also happens  to be the legal practitioner for Alhaji Hassan Mohammed Gusau  both in the suit pending before Justice J. Talba  and in the action for judicial review.

“I believe that  the only reason why Alhaji M.U. Akoyi ignored express provisions of the  Sheriffs and Civil Process Act and acted contrary to all known Legal  Procedure in endorsing  for execution a writ of possession issued outside the Federal Capital Territory is to make a profit for himself,” the petitioner  wrote.