Drama: Judge gives Okorocha restraining order, EFCC cries foul, reports judge to NJC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has dragged a Federal High Court judge, Justice Taiwo O. Taiwo before the National Judicial Council for granting the restraining order Governor Okorocha sought to prevent the commission from probing him, Vanguard reports.

The commission was apparently pissed off because Justice Taiwo has issued a restraining order stopping the probe of Governor Okorocha just a week after issuing a similar injunction to stop the probe of Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

In the strongly-worded petition signed by the chairman of the commission, Ibrahim Magu, the commission considers the injunctions as a brazen attempt by Justice Taiwo to stop its constitutional duties.

The petition which is written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Abdul Kafarati, is asking for the retrieval of all corruption cases filed by EFCC from Justice Taiwo’s court.

A top EFCC source told Vanguard that the commission came to the unavoidable decision to move against Justice Taiwo after he gave similar restraining orders to two top politicians facing probe by the anti-graft agency within a week.

Incidentally, the two injections issued in favour of Saraki and Okorocha against their investigation by the EFCC were argued by the same lawyer, Sunday Onubi and and granted by the same judge on May 15 and May 8, 2019 respectively. 

In the two injunctions, the same set of government agencies and officials were listed as the respondents while Governor Rochas Okorocha and Senator Bukola Saraki were the applicants.

The judge effectively restrained the Attorney General of the Federation, the Inspector General of Police, the DSS, the EFCC and the ICPC from going ahead with the probe of the applicants despite decided cases that the agencies have the right to do so.