Former minister, Mohammed Bala, seeks to retrieve ‘babariga’, perfumes, others from sealed Abuja house

Former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Bala Mohammed on Tuesday prayed a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Gudu to grant him entry into his house in Abuja sealed off by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since May 2016 to retrieve his personal effects.

Mohammed is standing trial on a six count charge bordering on abuse of office, receiving of gratification and making false assets declaration of some of his properties.

Personal effects listed to be retrieved in the said house include 35 sets of babariga, 15 pieces of perfumes, 50 sets of leather handbags, 65 pairs of shoes, over 35 boxes of clothes, bed sheets, kitchen utensils and a black coloured BMW car with registration number ABJ 462 AM belonging to Umar Aliyu Usman, a domestic aide to the defendant/applicant; and several other household items in the house.

In the said application, Mohammed submitted that he and his entire family members, as well as his domestic aides, were residing in the six-bedroom duplex at 1, Mariam Mukhtar Street, Asokoro, Abuja, until it was sealed off by the EFCC sometime in May 2016.

According to a supporting affidavit deposed to by a domestic aide to the ex-minister, Mr Umar Usman, the “sealing off” of the property was impromptu, and as a result, the family members moved to a guest house “and have been surviving on few personal effects they had to purchase out of desperation.”

Usman averred that there are numerous items belonging to the family members trapped in the property, which if not recovered would be lost and constitute a huge economic loss to the respective owners.

He also averred that, the personal effects of the defendant/applicant’s children namely: Fatima Bala Mohammed, Hauwa Bala Mohammed and Maimuna Bala Mohammed are trapped in the property.

In addition, he averred that the numerous gifts secured by the defendant/applicant’s wife, Mrs Lami Bala Mohammed in respect of her charity/humanitarian works, meant for distribution to the less-privileged during this Ramadan period are currently trapped in the property.

It was further averred that the defendant/applicant and his family have been suffering a lot of hardship as a result of the deprivation.

He however prayed for an order granting him and his family members entry to his premises located at No. 1, Mukhtar Street, Asokoro, Abuja, currently sealed off by the EFCC in order to retrieve his personal effects and those of other members of his family.

At the resumed trial yesterday, Prosecution counsel, Ben Ikani, informed the judge that the application should not be allowed to stall proceedings.

While saying he could help to facilitate how the items requested could be released to the defendant, he sought to respond to the application and requested that he be allowed to call his first witness.

When his request was granted, he called the investigative officer, Ishaya Dauda, as the first witness.

Dauda had taken his oath, when the defense counsel, Chris Uche (SAN), noted that the witness’s statement was not made to be part of the proof of evidence served on his client.

Although, Ikani said, in response, that the law did not make it mandatory for him to include the investigator’s statement in the proof of evidence, he requested an adjournment to enable him file an additional proof of evidence to exhibit the investigator’s written statement.

The trial judge, Justice Abubakar Talba later fixed Thursday for the hearing of the motion seeking the retrieval of personal effects from the sealed house.