The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission has obtained a remand order from a Federal Capital Territory
High Court to keep former Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State for two
weeks, The PUNCH can confirm.
The remand order, it was learnt, is subject to renewal which implies that Fayose could spend longer than two weeks in custody.
A reliable source said, “We have
obtained a court order to hold Fayose for at least two weeks pending
investigation. He could be released earlier or later than two weeks
depending on the outcome of investigation.”
Fayose is under probe for allegedly
receiving N1.3bn from the Office of the National Security Adviser
through a former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu
Obanikoro, during the build-up to the 2014 governorship election in
Ekiti State.
However, sources within the commission revealed to The PUNCH
that Fayose was also under probe for allegedly receiving kickbacks from
government contractors through his aide, Abiodun Agbele, who is
currently standing trial for fraud.
The EFCC source said, “We have many
cases against Fayose being handled by three different teams. We cannot
just arraign him immediately. We want to do a thorough job before taking
him to court.”
Meanwhile, the lawyer to Fayose, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), told The PUNCH
on the telephone that if the EFCC failed to release the former governor
on Thursday (today), the commission would be sued for breaching
Fayose’s fundamental human rights.
Ozekhome said the EFCC began
investigating Fayose over two years ago and that he wondered why the
agency would decide to hold him for over 24 hours.
He said the commission could not force Fayose to write any statement as he reserved the right to remain silent.
The senior advocate said any move to
obtain a remand order would amount to illegality because the Supreme
Court had made that clear.
The lawyer said since Fayose’s accounts
had been frozen and his properties seized by the commission, there was
nothing for the ex-governor to tell the EFCC as the matter was already
in court.
Ozekhome added, “His lawyers will
consider approaching the court for the enforcement of his fundamental
human rights if he is not released on Thursday. Section 35 and 36 of the
constitution are clear on this.
“He is not a flight risk. He willingly
submitted himself to the EFCC even earlier than the time he was supposed
to come. What the EFCC is doing is nothing but media trial.
“From the way they have been chasing
Fayose in the last three years, one would have expected that the EFCC
would have completed its investigations and would arrest him immediately
his tenure expires and charge him the next day but that is not the
case.
“They want him to write a statement by force and then use the statement against him instead of using their own evidence.”
Charge Fayose to court, PDP tells EFCC
On its part, the South-West Zone of the
Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday warned the EFCC not to detain
Fayose for more than 48 hours before charging him to court.
In a statement issued by the Publicity
Secretary of the party in the zone, Mr Ayo Fadaka, the party said, “It
is now going to 48 hours that he submitted himself to the agency and he
is still being held incommunicado, this development proves that the
claim by the EFCC that it is actually working in public interest is a
lie. It is merely playing a partisan card as attested to by its
unfortunate tweet in the immediate aftermath of the Ekiti election.
“We, therefore, hold firmly that if
Fayose is not charged to court immediately to answer to whatever charges
against him, then it will be very clear that the Buhari administration
is merely using the EFCC to intimidate, harass and punish him in the
most unjust manner.”
My govt a blessing, says Fayose…insists he didn’t take loan
Meanwhile, Fayose has said the statement
credited to Governor Kayode Fayemi that his administration was an error
is a mere political statement that shouldn’t be taken seriously.
He said the Ekiti people knew that his
first and second administrations were never an error but rather ones
that brought unparalleled blessings and development to the state.
Fayose reacted through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in a press release issued in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday.
He said, “If Fayemi said the
administration of Fayose is an error, then the road projects, the High
Court Complex, the Adunni Olayinka Women Development Centre, the new
Governor’s Office, the Ministry of Finance building, the flyover bridge,
the construction of chalets and renovation of buildings in the
Government House, among others, are errors.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: SUFFERING NIGERIAN LADY FAKES MADNESS TO ESCAPE HER WICKED SAUDI ARABIAN BOSS WHO KILLED HER LAST MAID or copy and paste https://nigeriantopsecret.blogspot.com/2018/10/suffering-nigerian-lady-fakes-madness.html
“The old Governor’s Office used by
Governor Fayemi during his first tenure was built by Fayose and now that
providence has bestowed a second term on his shoulder, he will operate
from the new Governor’s Office also built by Fayose. Are these errors
as well?”
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