Embattled former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole has challenged the competence and prosecutional powers of the lawyer to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC], Mr. Festus Keyamo to prosecute him on the 16-count charges bordering on alleged inflation of contracts to the tune of N984 million.
Consequently, Bankole currently in the custody of the EFCC with his deputy, Usman Bayero Nafada has asked Justice Donatus Okorowa of Federal High Court to quash the charges against him.
This was the content of his application filed by his lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo SAN, wherein he raised six grounds upon which he asked the court to quash the charges.
It is his contention that Keyamo lacked the competence to exercise prosecutional powers of the Attorney-General of the Federation because as at the time of filing the charges, there was no Attorney-General of the Federation to give him the fiat to prosecute.
He said: “The last AGF was Mohammed Adoke SAN, who vacated officially on the dissolution of the Federal Executive Council on 28th May, 2011.
“The AGF is the only officer that the Constitution empowered to issue fiat to private legal practitioner to institute or continue criminal proceedings in the high court.”
The applicant noted that the charges were filed on June 7th, 2011 when no AGF was in office.
He argued that he was not a person answerable to any acts or omission done pursuant to the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, the law he was accused to have contravened.
Besides, he contended that the office of speaker of the House Representatives which he occupied between 2007 and 2011 was not cognizable for the purpose of criminal responsibility or liability within the scope and intendment of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.
Attacking the proof of evidence, Bankole said the document did not link him with the items allegedly procured in contravention of the Public Procurement Act .
The former speaker has also boosted his legal team. He now has five Senior Advocates of Nigeria namely, Awomolo, Michael Fashanu, Olawale Akoni, Dr. Awal Kalu and Professor Charles Ilegbune.
He argued that he was never by law or in practice, a staff of the National Assembly under section 9 of the National Assembly Service Commission Act or in the Public Service of the Federation under the Act.
He further stated that he was neither the accounting officer nor the procurement officer and wondered why he would be accused of inflating contract sums.
The former speaker described as dubious some counts charges which alleged conspiracy between him and ‘others now at large’ because none of the persons who constituted the ‘Body of Principal Officers of the House of Representatives’ was at large.
Bankole said that he was not likely to have a fair trial because he had been vilified, demonised and condemned unfairly in the public domain.
The former speaker is charged with 33-count charges in different courts.
He was charged with 16 counts before a Federal High Court in Abuja and another 17 before an Abuja High Court.
He had pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Soon after he was granted bail by Justice Donatus Okorowa of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, Bankole was immediately re-arrested by operatives of the Commission.
He was thereafter driven to Apo Division of the Abuja High Court where he was arraigned alongside his former deputy, Usaman Nafada on another 17-count charges bordering on illegally obtaining loans of N40 billion on behalf of the House of Reps.
They both pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial judge, Justice Suleiman Belgore ordered that they be remanded in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission till Thursday when he would hear the accused persons’ bail application.
In the new charges, Bankole and Nafada were accused of committing criminal breach of trust when they conspired between themselves to approve the allowances and running cost of members of the House of Representatives in violation of the approved Remuneration Package for Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission and the extant Revised Financial Regulations of the Federal Government of Nigeria, 2009.
They were also accused of obtaining various loans totalling about N40 billion in contravention of the extant Revised Financial Regulations of the Federal Government of Nigeria, 2009 and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990 and punishable under Section 315 of the same Penal Code Act.
They were also accused of using the House of Reps’ accounts with the United Bank for Africa and the First Bank to obtain loans in a dishonest manner.
In other count charges, Bankole and Nafada were said to have dishonestly misappropriated the N40 billion loans obtained on behalf of the House.
Justice Donatus Okorowa of the Federal High Court had earlier granted bail Bankole to the tune of N5 million with one surety who must be an owner of a landed property worth the bail sum within the jurisdiction of the court.
The charges in respect of which the application to quash was filed were the ones pending before the Federal High Court.
Bankole was accused of colluding with some people who were said to be at large to increase the cost of purchasing Samsung television sets, HP computers, Digital Copiers, 2 units of Range Rover Bullet Proof vehicles and 3 units of Mercedes Benz S-600 Cars among others.
The offences were said to have been contrary to section 58(4)(a) of the Public Procurement Act punishable under section 58(5) of the same law.
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