Court bars EFCC from arresting, further inviting Innoson’s lawyer
Innoson Nigeria Ltd, Nigeria’s indigenous Auto Industrialist has expressed its concerns about the new trend in its long-running legal battles with GTB (Guarantee Trust Bank Plc.).
The auto maker is concerned about the interference of EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) in the legal matters in a manner that it has become apparent that EFCC is pursuing the interest of GTB in the pretext of exercising its statutory investigatory powers and curbing of financial crimes and that GTB is pulling strings in the EFCC.
Sometimes in January 2022, EFCC invited Prof. J. N. McCarthy Mbadugha, SAN – counsel to Innoson Nig Ltd- to an interview on 1st February 2022. Mbadugha honoured the invitation.
During the interrogation, EFCC showed him the counter affidavit to show cause which his Secretary deposed to and filed on 23rd March 2011 in opposition to GTB’s affidavit to show cause in a matter which has been decided by the Federal Court and the decision of the Federal High Court which has affirmed by the Court of Appeal is presently pending at the Supreme Court- SC. 694/2014.
EFCC told the Learned Silk that the depositions in the counter affidavit to show cause were false and asked him the source of the information. But the learned SAN emphatically told EFCC- its personnel interviewing, embarrassing and humiliating him- that the depositions are true.
That it was his client that provided all the information he used in prosecuting the case and that he verily believed his client.
The Learned Silk insisted that both the trial court and Court of Appeal found that the depositions in GTB’s affidavit were false and that GTB did not deny the depositions in the counter affidavit of 23rd of March 2011 and that he relies and stands on the judgments of the two courts which have settled the matter and can only be overturned upon appeal and not the needless belated charade of investigation of the truth of the stated facts. EFCC kept him in its custody for over 7 hours.
