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| Former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah |
A Federal High Court in
Lagos on Wednesday dismissed a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by a
former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, against the Attorney-General of the
Federation and three others.
The
Punch report continues:
Justice
Okon Abang, who dismissed Oduah’s suit for want of jurisdiction, ordered her to
pay a cost of ₦15,000 to the AGF.
Oduah
had filed the suit last year August, praying the court to restrain agencies of
the Federal Government from questioning or prosecuting her over the purchase of
two armoured BMW vehicles at a cost of ₦255m by the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority under her watch as the Aviation minister in 2013.
In
her suit, Oduah claimed to have already been probed and exonerated by the House
of Representatives’ Committee on Aviation and the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission and urged Justice Abang to declare that any further probe would
amount to violating her fundamental rights.
The
respondents in the suit were the AGF, the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt
Practices and other related offences Commission and the Inspector-General of
Police.
Oduah
alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress intended to use the
respondents to persecute her, being a prominent member of the opposition
Peoples Democratic Party.
She
claimed that the Federal Government had perfected plans to try prominent
members of the PDP on trump-up charges in a special Lagos State High Court, so
as to turn the country into a one-party state.
She
begged the court to restrain the respondents from unleashing repression against
her.
But
the EFCC denied doing the bidding of the APC, claiming that it was independent.
It
furnished the court with a petition dated October 18, 2013, written by a lawyer
from the chambers of Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), calling for Oduah’s investigation.
According
to the EFCC, the said petition was captioned, ‘Request for Investigation of
Economic and Financial Crimes of the sum of ₦255m by Aviation Minister, Ms.
Stella Oduah.’
The
EFCC urged the court to dismiss Oduah’s suit.
But
in his judgment, Justice Abang dismissed the EFCC’s objection for not complying
with Order 8 Rule 1 of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure.
“The
EFCC did not file any opposition in line with the law,” Justice Abang held.
The
judge however upheld the preliminary objection filed by the AGF, who challenged
the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in Lagos to entertain Oduah’s suit.
Counsel
for the AGF, T.A. Gazali, had contended that since the rights violation that
Oduah alleged did not happen in Lagos, it would be a violation of Section 46(1)
of the Constitution and Order 2 Rule 1 of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement
Procedure to entertain the case in Lagos.
“From
the whole of the applicant’s averments, there is nowhere she mentioned that her
right was or is being breached by the respondents within the territorial space
called Lagos.
“There
is nothing to show that the applicant was invited, arrested or detained in
Lagos by any of the respondents in the suit.
“The
Federal High Court sitting in Lagos cannot assume jurisdiction to entertain alleged
breach of fundamental rights that did not take place in Lagos State,” Gazali
had argued.
Justice
Abang upheld Gazali’s argument and dismissed Oduah’s case.
The
judge also held that if the Federal Government had any valid reason to arraign
Oduah in a Lagos State High Court, as she alleged, it would not amount to a
violation of her right.
Meanwhile,
in another judgment, Justice Abang also refused a prayer to stop the EFCC and
the Department of State Services from arresting and probing a former Special
Adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs and the
Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Kingsley Kuku.
The judge dismissed Kuku’s
suit for lacking in merit, but restrained the respondents from detaining him
beyond 48 hours in contravention of Section 35(4)(5) of the Constitution.
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