The report cited an affidavit deposed to by Adoke in a suit filed against the House of Representatives and five others, including the AGF, by Integrated Oil and Gas Limited, one of the companies indicted by the report.
The suit is before Justice Gladys Olotu, who, on Wednesday, granted an interim order restraining the Federal Government from implementing the subsidy probe committee report as it relates to Integrated Oil and Gas Limited, pending the determination of the substantive suit.
However, reacting to reports that he said that the oil thieves would not be prosecuted, Adoke, who spoke through his counsel in the suit filed by Integrated Oil and Gas Limited, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, described the report, published by a national daily (not The PUNCH) as “a wrong presentation of facts” and “a headline out of context with the facts presented to the courts.”
Awomolo also restated the AGF’s earlier assertion that the probe conducted by the ad-hoc committee was a “fact finding” exercise, and that the report would be subjected to further investigation by relevant agencies of government.
“The Federal Government will prosecute all those found culpable of corrupt practices on the basis of the investigations of competent statutory agencies vested with powers to conduct criminal investigations and prosecution will commence thereafter,” he said.
He also stressed that expected prosecution of the oil thieves would be guided by the dictates of the rule of law.
Awomolo said, “The fundamental rule of law is that a report of any fact finding committee is not conclusive of the commission of a crime; hence the Honorable Attorney General in his counter affidavit dated 3rd day of July, 2012, deposed to by Ayotunde Ogunleye stated clearly that ‘The 3rd respondent (AGF) was not part of the exercise of the legislative powers but as the chief law officer to the Government of the Federation and in response to public reactions to the publication of the report and resolution of the 1st and 2nd respondents (House of Representatives and Farouk Lawan) made a public statement’.
“The public statement is to the effect that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who is the chief Executive Officer of the Federation and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation, will consider the report and resolution and will take appropriate action within the law.
“The report of the committee, which is a fact finding committee, will be studied and given to relevant agencies of government but will not prosecute or take legal action against person or persons indicted by the report.”
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