Justice Obiora Egwuatu has withdrawn from two cases instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
The judge, who had recently been reassigned the matters by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, said his decision was based on personal reasons and the interest of justice.
The cases involve a multi-billion-naira asset forfeiture suit covering 57 properties and the N8.7 billion money-laundering charges filed by the EFCC against Malami, his wife, Asabe Bashir, and his son, Abdulaziz Malami.
The development came shortly after the civil forfeiture suit concerning the 57 properties allegedly linked to Malami was called for mention.
At the resumed proceedings, EFCC counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, told the court that the matter was slated for mention.
He also informed the court that the commission had received a letter from Malami’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu, SAN, requesting an adjournment to Monday, February 16.
According to Iheanacho, the defence counsel explained in the letter that he was attending another matter at the Court of Appeal, hence the request.
Moments later, Justice Egwuatu, in a short ruling, announced his withdrawal.
“Gentlemen, for personal reasons and in the interest of justice, I will recuse myself from this case and in the other sister case,” he said, adding that the case files would be remitted back to the Chief Judge.
Although Daudu was absent from the proceedings, counsel representing other respondents and applicants with interests in some of the properties already placed on interim forfeiture to the Federal Government were present.
The matters were previously handled by Justice Emeka Nwite, who served as vacation judge during the Yuletide break.
Following the end of the Christmas vacation sitting, the Chief Judge reassigned the cases to Justice Egwuatu, fixing February 12 for the civil forfeiture case and February 16 for the money-laundering matter.
Meanwhile, the EFCC has maintained that its investigations are not aimed at opposition figures, including Malami, insisting that cases are handled without regard to political affiliation.
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, said this in a recent exclusive interview with Channels Television, stressing that the probe of Malami was not politically motivated.
“Let me tell you about that particular former attorney-general that you are talking about — there is nothing personal in this matter. If Nigeria is to move forward, all of us must agree that this fight must be fought without being partisan, and that’s what I want Nigerians to understand and to agree with us,” Olukayode said in the interview aired on Sunday Politics.
“So now I want to tell Nigerians that the investigation of this man predated me in office, and a lot of people don’t know that. Yes, I edited the investigation file. What I did was to ensure that the investigation was carried out in a very professional and thorough manner.”
“He has been under investigation for almost two and a half years. The file was opened not even under me. I inherited it, and for the past over two years I’ve been in office, we’ve been painstakingly carrying out the investigation, trying to establish some of these offenses and all of that,” the EFCC czar said.
“Not until I was convinced that we had a watertight case — and Nigerians are witnesses — so there’s nothing personal about it. I don’t understand the issue of persecution and all of that.”
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