BREAKING: Court Refuses To Grant Order Stopping EFCC, Imo Govt From Seizing Okorocha’s Properties
On Wednesday, Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja refused to grant an order of interim injunction sought by Rochas Okorocha, the former governor of Imo State, against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Imo State Government, preventing them from further interfering with and confiscating his properties across the country.
The judge reasoned that granting the order during different challenges to the court’s jurisdiction in the case would be unjust.
Instead, Justice Mohammed has set August 24 to hear the EFCC and Imo State’s argument that Okorocha’s petition on notice cannot be heard during court holiday.
Okorocha had petitioned a court in Abuja on Wednesday to seek a restraining order barring the EFCC and the Imo State government from further interfering with and seizing his properties across the country.
Okorocha, who currently represents the Imo West Senatorial seat in the Senate, asked the court to order the preservation of his properties until the outcome of the ongoing court matters.
He claimed that his properties had been marked for confiscation in numerous states, and that he would be affected unless the preservation order was obtained against the EFCC and Imo State.
His counsel, Chief Oba Maduabuchi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, filed a move on notice for the requested court order.
The EFCC and the government of Imo State, on the other hand, have aggressively resisted the request, claiming that the court lacks authority to hear Okorocha’s case.
The anti-graft agency and the government of Imo state argue that the case is not one that can be heard during court recess.
They went on to say that Okorocha did not meet the prerequisites for the case to be heard during vacation, and that the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court’s Fiat should be sought and received before such a case may be heard during vacation.
While filing the new motion, the EFCC and Imo State referenced Order 46 Rule 5 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedures Rule 2019, which Okorocha allegedly violated.
