A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has issued a temporary order against the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and others, restraining them from arresting the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party’s National Secretary Prof. Wale Oladipo.
Also affected by the court’s order for the maintenance of status quo are the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase and the Department of State Services (DSS).
Granting the order in response to a request by lawyer to the applicant, Ajibola Oluyede, Justice James Tsoho directed parties in the fundamental right enforcement application by the PDP scribe to maintain status quo by sustaining the current situation until the determination of the case.
Justice Tsoho said the order was intended “to allay the fear being expressed by the applicant”.
He added that since time was of essence, the respondents needed not to comply with his earlier order made ex-parte, requiring them to show cause why a restraining order earlier sought ex-parte by the applicant, should not be granted.
The judge, therefore, directed the respondent to proceed to respond to the substantive application and adjourned to March 4 for hearing.
It would be recalled that Prof. Oladipo had filed the suit on February 8 on the ground that he had received a text message on his mobile telephone from someone, who claimed to be an operative of the EFCC, attached to the Asset Tracing and Recovery Unit.
He added that the author of the message asked him to call a certain phone number contained in the message to reach somebody else who would give the date and time he was to report at the anti-graft commission’s office in Abuja for an “interaction”.
The PDP national secretary alleged that he was being witch-hunted, harassed and intimidated on the basis of funds, which he received from members of the party “without guilty knowledge”.
His lawyer is seeking among others, a perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from “the continued witch-hunt, harassment, intimidation and persecution of the applicant or threats by the respondents ostensibly on the basis of funds received by the applicant without guilty knowledge from members of his political party”.
Oluyede also urged the court to declare any plan to arrest, investigate or “fabricate evidence” against his client as “constituting prosecutorial misconduct, malicious process, misfeasance in public office by the respondents”.
The applicant also wants the court to declare that the said acts “infringe unjustifiably and illegally upon his liberty” and to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
