Court dismisses N20m fundamental rights suit against ICPC

An Abuja Federal High Court sitting in Maitama has dismissed a N20 million fundamental rights enforcement suit filed against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

The ruling was contained in a statement signed by Demola Bakare, Director, Public Enlightenment and Education/Spokesperson for the Commission.

Mrs Christiana Dagogo-George, Project Manager of Wiseworld Firm Consult Limited, instituted the fundamental rights suit against ICPC before Justice U.P. Kekemeke.

She alleged that her fundamental rights were violated when she was arrested and detained by the ICPC between October 17 and 19, 2022.

Her arrest was linked to a contract awarded to her company by the Nigeria Police Trust Fund in June 2022.

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In the course of investigating contracts awarded and executed during the tenure of the former acting Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, Mr Mohammed Alhaji Yahaya, the ICPC discovered that Mrs Dagogo-George had secured eight training contracts through eight separate companies allegedly linked to her.

According to the ICPC, each contract was valued at N36,964,441 (Thirty-Six Million, Nine Hundred and Sixty-Four Thousand, Four Hundred and Forty-One Naira), and the training sessions were intended to take place in eight different locations across the country.

However, the Commission found that all eight companies were owned by Mrs Dagogo-George, and that despite full payments—totaling over N100 million—being made to each company for the respective training sessions, the training was conducted in only three out of the eight designated locations.

In a counter-affidavit filed before the court, the ICPC stated: “After payment was made to the Applicant in respect of the eight locations, the training sessions were subsequently merged into three locations, and the funds meant for the remaining five locations were diverted to personal use by the Applicant.”

The Commission denied breaching Mrs Dagogo-George’s fundamental rights, asserting that she was granted bail on the same day she presented herself for questioning.

However, she allegedly violated the bail conditions by failing to respond to subsequent invitations.

The ICPC further claimed that after repeated efforts to secure her cooperation, she eventually returned, but her initial bail was revoked. She was later granted fresh bail under new conditions, which she failed to meet until January 18–19, 2023.

The Commission also tendered evidence showing that Mrs Dagogo-George had undertaken to refund part of the unutilized funds, amounting to N10 million.

In his ruling, Justice Kekemeke held that the applicant failed to prove that her right to personal liberty was violated during her detention between October 17 and 19, 2022.

The Court noted that a lawful invitation for investigation purposes does not constitute a breach of fundamental rights.

“I have also carefully examined the documents attached to the Applicant’s Written Address. They are a mere surplusage.

“They carry no legal weight before this Court and are hereby discountenanced. In totality, the Applicant has not made out a case for the grant of the reliefs sought. The application fails and is hereby dismissed,” Justice Kekemeke ruled.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE