The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, April 16, 2019, re-arrested Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia as she appears in Court for her trail. The anti-graft agency has since released a statement saying that she was re-arrested to enable the Commission prefer a fresh criminal charge against her.
According to the statement made available a few hours ago by EFCC the Commission said it re-arrested Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia in line with the decision of the Appeal Court, Lagos Division, in a case involving Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, where it said that a judge could not be prosecuted until he or she had either been dismissed or compulsorily retired by the National Judicial Council, NJC.
“Consequent upon the fact that the Commission had presented Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia before the NJC for disciplinary action and that the NJC had taken a position, the Commission would now approach the court to prefer fresh charges her.”
The Commission had first arraigned Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia and Godwin Obla, SAN, on a 30-count charge on Monday, November 28, 2016 on offences bordering on perversion of the course of justice, graft, unlawful enrichment, providing false information and forgery.
They were, however, re-arraigned on an amended 31-count charge bordering on an alleged perversion of the course of justice, unlawful enrichment and forgery.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them, thereby setting the stage for the trial.
Having presented 12 witnesses and tendered several documents that were admitted in evidence by the court in the course of the trial, counsel to Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, first defendant, Robert Clarke SAN, in an application dated November, 27, 2018, said the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case and urged the court to discharge and acquit his client.
However, Ifedayo Adedipe, SAN, counsel for the second defendant, Obla, on January 25, 2019, told the court that the charges preferred against his client could be entertained.
He, therefore, urged the court to separate the charges so that his client could continue with his trial.