The Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development (PAPSD) has debunked the news that a Federal High Court, Abuja had dismissed a N900 billion fraud charges filed against former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a statement signed by PAPSD’s Executive Director, Dr Abdullahi Sani Shinkafi, in Abuja, the group said, the fictitious news making the rounds on social media and some online news blogs that “Court dismisses EFCC’s N900bn fraud charges against ex-Gov Yari,” is fake, both in the headline and in content.
According to Shinkafi, “It is an absurd misrepresentation of what transpired in the Federal High Court Abuja on February 4, 2021. It has therefore become imperative for PAPSD to clarify, for the reading public what actually transpired in Court. This is to prevent the gullible and uninformed from being misled by a piece of junk journalism.
“Firstly, EFCC has no pending N900 billion fraud charge against ex-Gov Yari before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja. Instead, it was Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development (PAPSD), a non-governmental organisation and its Executive Director, Alhaji Sani A. Shinkafi, who approached the Federal High Court since July 21, 2020, with an ex-parte application for leave to apply for an Order of Mandamus. It was a public interest suit in which the Applicants sought leave to apply for an Order of Mandamus to compel EFCC to investigate the Petitions of the Applicants against ex-Gov Yari, top Government Functionaries, individuals and Private Companies for alleged misappropriation of state funds, abuse of office and conversion of public funds and resources belonging to Zamfara State.
Shinkafi pointed out that “The ex-parte application for leave was moved before Justice Abang of the Federal High Court Abuja on December 7, 2020. It was adjourned to December 18, 2020, for ruling and subsequently to February 4, 2021. Delivering its ruling, the Court on its own raised the issue of the application for mandamus being statute-barred.
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Shinkafi noted that “it must be pointed out that the three Government Reports listed above were not the basis of the Application for Mandamus. The foundation of the Application for Mandamus was EFCC’s failure to investigate 15 Petitions it received from Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development (PAPSD) and its Executive Director.
“In the same vein, had the Court given our Counsel the opportunity to address it on the issue of three months limitation of time it raised suo motu, the attention of the Court would have been drawn to the last Petition of the Applicants dated July 8, 2020; duly exhibited in the Application for Leave.
“In an unprecedented manner, the Court dismissed the Application for Leave, stating that it was filed more than three months after the cause of action arose.”
Shinkafi vowed that he would go to the EFCC office in Lagos which is already investigating allegations of N300billion against the former Governor to adopt PAPSD petitions for discreet investigation against Yari.