Court adjourns ruling on Patience Jonathan’s $5.8 pending appeal court’s decision

JUSTICE Mojisola Olatoregun of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on Monday fixed September 20 to rule in a suit seeking the final forfeiture to the Federal Government, the disputed sum found by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Justice Olatoregun adjourned the matter after listening to the arguments to Mike Ozekhome counsel to the second defendant who stated that an application seeking for stay of proceedings had been filed before the appeal court.

“I believe that it will be in the interest of justice that parties vent their views at the Court of Appeal,” Justice Olatoregun said.

It would be recalled that the EFCC had sought a forfeiture of the sum to government, pending the determination of the motion on notice.

The court had granted the interim order and had further directed that it should be advertised in a national daily, to enable any interested party to appear and show cause why the interim order should not be made final.

“My attitude would have been that going by order 4 rules 10 and 11 of the Court of Appeal rules, this court ceases to have further jurisdiction to even entertain the motions of today.”

“The Appeal Court has said that it will amount to embarking on illegal judicial voyage since the appeal has already been entered in the appeal court,” Ozekhome said.

“The entire proceedings of today will amount to illegality” as it was the Appellate court that will decide whether the application filed before it was right or wrong.

“There is an application pending before the court of appeal for stay of proceedings. It borders on judicial impertinence and an affront to the authority of the court of appeal,” Mr Ozokhome said.

Mr Ozokhome further informed the court that the application of stay from the decision of this court have been entered by the court of appeal and fixed for hearing on the 5th of July 2017.

Counsel to EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo, however urged the court to hear the applications before it as it has the jurisdiction to hear the matter.

“There is no order staying proceedings on this matter,” said Mr Oyedepo.

While observing that the order of stay of proceedings have been served on the prosecution and the court, Justice. Olatoregun adjourned the matter pending the hearing of the application filed before the appeal court.

The EFCC had earlier filed a motion seeking an order for interim forfeiture of the said $5.8 million dollars lodged in the respondent’s Skye Bank account.

The Commission also sought an order directing the interim forfeiture of N2.4 billion discovered in an EcoBank account in the name of La Wari Furniture and Bath Ltd, suspected to be proceeds of crime.

It further sought the publication in any national newspaper, of the said order, to enable any interested party to appear and show why the interim order should not be made final.

The Commission averred in an affidavit that it received an intelligence report that funds suspected to be proceeds of crime were warehoused in a Skye Bank account belonging to Mrs Jonathan.

According to the Commission, Mrs Jonathan had dissipated the funds, leaving a balance of about $5.7 million.