The Agunloye trial about Mambilla project is of public interest. It gives an insight to the inner workings of government and a reflection of poor governance. It is put out there for public information and deeper understanding.
In December 2023, Dr. Olu Agunloye suddenly found himself in a life struggle for justice for awarding, when he was a Minister over 20 years ago, a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract to Messrs Sunrise in May 2003 at zero cost to Nigeria. He ceased to be a Minister in June 2003. It is the activities between FGN and Sunrise between June 2003 and October 2022 that led to the International Arbitration in France where FGN now is striving to avoid liabilities and has adopted the criminalisation of the actions of Ministers, Attorneys General, and Civil Servants who worked on the Mambilla Project excepting those who served under the Buhari’s APC Administration. In particular, FGN wishes to absolve itself from liabilities at the Arbitration by showing that it has now found in 2024 that the 2003 BOT contract was ‘wrongly’ awarded.
At the FCT High Court under Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie is the main case against Agunloye in which EFCC is accusing him of “awarding a BOT contract in 2003 without cash backing, refusing a verbal directive of the President, forging his own letter as a sitting Minister and for receiving bribe of N3.6 million in 2019, 16 years after”. There are four civil cases taken by Agunloye against EFCC, all of which border on his rights. They are about his being harassed before arraignment, being unlawfully declared ‘wanted’, being presented to the public as someone with $6 billion fraud case and life-threatening medical negligence while in EFCC custody.
The positions of the pending cases are as stated:
a. In June 2023, Agunloye filed a suit to stop EFCC from harassing him. The court and EFCC delayed till EFCC indeed harassed him by declaring him wanted, arresting, and detaining him. Then on 18 March 2024, the court dismissed the suit. Agunloye has appealed this judgment.
b. Agunloye had argued that the Mambilla case is of public interest and sought the amicus curiae intervention to enable eminent “friends of the court” to make presentations before the court. On 15 April 2024, the FCT court ruled against Amicus Curiae intervention.
c. On 9 May 2024, a Federal High Court under Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned Agunloye’s rights violation suit against EFCC until 24 June 2024. Agunloye had submitted that the EFCC declared him wanted without judicial intervention and recourse to constitutional safeguards.
d. Agunloye also raised a preliminary objection on the competence of EFCC to prosecute him because he argued that he has not committed any financial crime and that EFCC did not have a valid fiat to prosecute him. He referred to the EFCC Act and the case of Nwobike versus FGN determined by the Supreme Court in 2021.
e. On 15 May 2024, the FCT court will give its ruling on the preliminary objection raised by Agunloye to uphold or dismiss the Agunloye’s position on EFCC.
Dr Olu Agunloye. 13 May 2024
