Court quashes charges against ex-Reps member, Duru

From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja on Tuesday quashed a charge filed against former House of Representatives member, Nze Chidi Duru by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In his ruling, Justice Peter Affen upheld the preliminary objection filed by Duru against the four-count charge and said the filing of the charge was an abuse of court process.

The judge said the charge was filed in defiance of a pending interlocutory restraining order made late last year by Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

In the said decision, Justice Kolawole restrained the defendants in a suit pending before him, particularly the EFCC, it’s chairman from prosecuting Duru pending the determination of the suit.

Justice Affen said it was wrong for the EFCC to have ignored the subsisting order Justice Kolawole and proceeded file initiate this criminal proceedings against Duru.

The judge faulted the argument by the prosecution that this charge was not based on the First Guarantee Pension Ltd (FGPL) “Draft Target Examination Report” produced by the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), and which had been nullified by a July 2012 judgment of Justice D. U. Okorowo of the Federal High Court.

He said there was no evidence to show that the EFCC conducted fresh investigation on the case, as it claimed, because the nullified “Draft Target Examination Report” formed a substantial part of the Proof of evidence submitted in support of this charge.

Having found that the charge constituted an abuse of court process, Justice Affen made an order quashing it.