Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki has told a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos that the asset forfeiture suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had already been decided by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Recall that the EFCC in the suit had claimed that the Plots No. 10 and No. 11 belonging to Mr Saraki in Ilorin, Kwara State were acquired with corruption proceeds while the former senate-president was Kwara State Governor between 2003 and 2011.
Mr Saraki, through his counsel, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, told Justice Rilwan Aikawa that the suit is an abuse of court processes intended to scandalise him.
According to Mr Saraki, the Supreme Court judgment discharged him “from culpability arising from the same money and houses which are the subject matter of this action.”
Mr Ogunwumiju added the new suit by the EFCC was an abuse of court processes because it was filed at a time when a suit on the same subject matter was still pending at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
According to him, in the Abuja suit, Justice Taiwo Taiwo had on May 14, 2019 made an order for parties to stay action on the subject matter pending the determination of an originating motion on notice.
“Despite the pendency of the above-captioned suit, service of the originating processes and the subsistence of the aforesaid order of this court, the respondent surreptitiously commenced Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1867/2019 between the EFCC v Dr Bukola Saraki on 14th October 2019 in this court where it seeks orders aimed at neutralising the order of the Abuja Division of this court,” he said.
The ex-Kwara governor said the EFCC’s new suit was meant to “irritate, annoy and scandalise” him and urged Justice Aikawa to dismiss it.
The judge adjourned till February 5 to take arguments on Mr Saraki’s objection.