Court Dismisses Suit Seeking EFCC To Probe Ex-Gov Abdulaziz Yari For N900 Billion Fraud

The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking an order compelling the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate former Governor of Zamfara, Abdulaziz Yari, for alleged misappropriation of N900 billion.

Justice Okon Abang, in a judgment on Thursday, dismissed the suit for lacking in merit.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) observed that a group, Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development (PAPS), had approached the court in an exparte application.

The PAPS, through its Chairman, Dr. Sani Shinkafi, had prayed the court to order the EFCC to act on the 15 petitions seeking urgent action by the anti-graft agency.

Justice Abang, who dismissed the application for lacking in merit, also held that the application was filed out of time.

The judge said in line with Order 34 Rule four of the Federal High Court Rules, applications such as the one by the applicant should be done within three months of receiving the reports and documents on which the plaintiff based his case.

Justice Abang maintained that in line with the rules, the court lacks jurisdiction to extend the time for hearing such a matter as it is statute barred.

This is coming just one week after the same Court ordered the final forfeiture of various amounts, estimated at about N700 million, linked to the ex-gov, Yari.