The case against former Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha, brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has been thrown out by the High Court in Abuja.
In his judgment, Justice Yusuf Halilu criticized the EFCC for charging Okorocha with fraud and abuse of office, stating that it was an abuse of the judicial process since the anti-graft agency had already filed a similar charge against him at the Federal High Court.
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The EFCC had accused Okorocha of laundering N2.9 billion during his tenure as governor from 2011 to 2019. However, Okorocha challenged the competency of the charge, arguing that there were existing orders restraining the commission from prosecuting him on the same allegations.
He pointed out that a federal high court in Port Harcourt had granted an application on December 6, 2021, which halted his prosecution due to flaws in the investigative process conducted by the agency. According to Okorocha, as long as that order remained in effect, the current charge filed by the EFCC amounted to an abuse of prosecutorial powers and the judicial process.
In addition, Okorocha referenced a ruling delivered by an Abuja federal high court in February 2023, which dismissed a similar suit filed by the EFCC. These legal precedents further supported his argument against the agency’s case.
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