– Ojogbane Adegbe is seeking N100 million as damages from EFCC for unlawful detention – The matter is scheduled for mention in court on Thursday, March 25 An aide de camp to the former president, Goodluck Jonathan has dragged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to court over abuse of his fundamental human rights.
Ojogbane Adegbe is seeking among others: N100 million as damages for unlawful detention from the EFCC, a court order for his immediate release and a written apology by the anti-graft agency.
In a suit seen by Naij.com, the reliefs are sought on the grounds that the arrest and continued detention of the applicant by the EFCC violates his right to personal liberty and freedom of movement as guaranteed by Section 35 and 41 of the 1999 constitution as amended and Articles 5, 6 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The matter is scheduled for for mention on Thursday, March 25 at an FCT court in Abuja. Also, an affidavit in support of the motion on notice filed, stated that Adegbe immediately came back to Nigeria from the United Kingdom, where he went for a military course on February 10. He reported himself to the army provost marshal the next day and subsequently to the EFCC. Upon arrival, the EFCC further asked Adegbe to invite his lawyers before making a statement which he did. The affidavit noted that despite making his statement, the respondent (EFCC) have failed to either grant Adegbe bail or charge him to court. “That unless by an order of the honourable court, the applicant will continue to languish in detention at the instance of the respondent even though he has since made his statement to the respondent,” the affidavit said.
It also said that the case against Adegbe as seen from interrogations and questions put to him relates to his military official duties in receiving concealed messages from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and delivering them to persons under the instruction of the former president. Another document seen showed that Adegbe’s lawyer, a senior advocate of Nigeria, Ogwu Onoja had on Monday, February 15 applied to the EFCC for a bail on behalf of his client, Adegbe. The bail was never granted by the commission. Adegbe, colonel, was interrogated alongside the director of army’s Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), Abubakar Sa’ad, a brigadier general for their involvement in the distribution of funds slated for the procurement of arms for fight against terrorists operating in the northeast. They have been under detention by the EFCC since February 11. Adegbe is accused of delivering a brief case containing N10 billion from Jonathan to a former special assistant on domestic affairs to the former president, Waripamowe Dudafa. Sources close to him told Naij.com that that Adegbe was on a military course outside in the United Kingdom when the EFCC wrote the army to call him up for interrogation. He said contrary to media reports, Adegbe never said that if he confesses another DasukiGate will be opened up or Nigeria will boil. “Those were all lies, I think some section of the media is being used by the EFCC to upturn cases the way they want it to go,” the source said. The source continued: “Ojogbane has said that he was only given a parcel by his boss to handover over to someone and the EFCC is asking him to admit that it was money in the parcel and he knew the amount in it. “The point is all this happened in two hours, how could he have opened a parcel given to him by his boss and was also able to count such a huge sum with two hours?” the source added.
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