03/09/2017

Why EFCC Returned Former Bayelsa Governor Timipre Sylva’s Houses



Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...EFCC Returned Timipre Sylva's 48 Houses, Timipre Sylva's houses, EFCC trial, Justice Ademola, Timipre Sylva mocked over judgment debtNigeria’s social media went into a frenzy in the last few days over reports indicating that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had returned 48 houses seized from former Bayelsa Governor Timipre Sylva .

The houses were seized by the EFCC which claimed they were purchased or built with the proceeds of corruption allegedly perpetrated while Sylva was Bayelsa governor between May 2007 and January 2012.
Sylva was a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the time he held office as Bayelsa governor.He however switched to all Progressive Congress (APC) in 2015 to seek re-election as Bayelsa Governor.
As reports swirled this past week that the EFCC had returned houses seized from Sylva, many commentators mocked the anti-corruption campaign of the APC-led federal government, deeming it as a charade. To many, the EFCC simply returned Sylva’s houses because he switched loyalty to the APC.
The EFCC on Saturday however provided some clarification on the reports. The anti-graft agency in a series of posts on its official page on Twitter, said the story first surfaced in October 2016 and was being recycled.
Providing a background to its action, the EFCC narrated how it had, in 2013, charged the ex-governor for corruption before Justice AR Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja who however dismissed the charges against Sylva upon being informed that the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) had withdrawn similar charges against Sylva before Justice E. Chukwu also of the Federal High Court.
Justice Mohammed was said to have refused to consider the charges before him and accused the EFCC of trying to abuse the process of court notwithstanding entreaties by the EFCC that the DPP withdrew its case before Justice Chukwu so that the two cases could be consolidated into one before Justice Mohammed.
The EFCC again filed a fresh 50-count charge before Justice Adeniyi Ademola also of the Federal High Court in June 2015 who also dismissed the charges in November 2015 after describing them as “frivolous and lacking in merit.”
Sylva and his co-defendants never took their pleas before both Justice Mohammed and Justice Ademola as the charges were dismissed based on arguments about the proper court to file the charges and filing similar charges in different courts.
Justice Ademola would himself later face trial between 2016 and 2017, alongside his wife and a senior lawyer, Joe Agi SAN, for allegedly receiving gratification to thwart the course of justice. He was discharged after the trial court held a no case submission .
Following the decision of the courts, the EFCC was compelled to release the houses earlier seized as part of its investigation. In 2016,Sylva however argued that he neither owned nor reclaimed 48 housed from the EFCC .

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