The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has denied any association with lawyer Ibrahim Mohammed, who brought forth forgery charges against former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, in the name of the anti-graft agency.
On Tuesday, the EFCC informed the Federal High Court in Abuja that Mohammed, a Superintendent of Police, had no authority to file criminal charges against Oduah or engage in any criminal prosecution on behalf of the EFCC.
The agency’s counsel, Helen Okonofun, stated that Mohammed was previously associated with the EFCC but was transferred to the police headquarters on November 4, 2022. Since then, he had no involvement with the EFCC.
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Last week, the judge ordered an investigation into Mohammed’s actions, and the EFCC has since conducted the probe.
The findings of this investigation will be submitted to the court registry and made available to the judge. Justice James Omotoso has scheduled October 4, 2023, as the date for the EFCC to formally present the report of the investigation to the court.
To sum up, the EFCC has distanced itself from lawyer Ibrahim Mohammed and the charges he filed against Stella Oduah, stating that he had no authority to represent the agency in this matter.
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The EFCC has conducted an investigation into his actions, and the results will be shared with the court at a later date as ordered by the judge.
The lawyer filed eight charges against the former minister, accusing her of forging a National Youth Service Corps certificate.
However, the judge noticed some irregularities in the court process and started questioning the lawyer.
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Justice Omotoso asked if the lawyer had permission from the EFCC to file the charges, to which Mohammed replied negatively.
He struggled to provide coherent answers and eventually admitted that he mistakenly filed the charges in the name of the EFCC.
Last week, Oduah’s lawyer, James Onoja (SAN), expressed that the charges against his client were unusual.
According to Onoja, there was no evidence supporting the allegations that complied with the legal requirements, such as including her statement.
