The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has revealed the reason behind embattled lawyer, Rickey Tarfa’s troubles.
The anti-graft agency has accused the senior lawyer of attempting to pervert justice.
EFCC revealed this in an affidavit sworn as a counter response to the application filed by Tarfa requesting Justice Aishat Opesanwo of the Lagos state High Court, to throw out that charges brought against him.
Tarfa was initially charged to court on Tuesday, February 16 on allegations bordering on willful obstruction of an officer of the agency to carry out his duty and attempting to pervert justice. Tarfa pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Sanusi Mohammed, an EFCC agent who deposed to the counter affidavit revealed how Tarfa supposedly committed the said crimes.
In the affidavit which is 28 paragraphs long, Mohammed stated that in the course of investigating a petition dated December 13, 2013, Tarfa filed two fundamental rights enforcement suit No FHC/L/CS/715/2015- Rena Prestige ind. Nigeria Ltd and Mr. Gnanhouse Sourou Nazaira V EFCC and 2 Ors and FHC/L/CS/716/ 2015- Hair Prestige Manufacturing Nigeria Ltd V EFCC and 2 Ors respectively at the Federal High Court, Lagos against the agency on behalf of his clients.
He further revealed that Justice Yunusa presided over both suits and awarded N10 million as damages against the agency and two other respondents in the two cases in a judgement which was delivered on September 8, 2015.
The EFCC continued that during the proceedings of the suits, the agency gathered intelligence that Tarfa was reaching out to Justice Yunusa in a bid to get a favourable judgement from him against the commission- an allegation which the EFCC claimed to confirm while also revealing that the defendant was in the habit of requesting the registrars of the Federal High Court to assign cases handled by Tarfa’s chambers to Justice Yunusa.
However, at the hearing of the case on Monday, March 14, Tarfa’s lawyer, Nnaemeka Nigige, SAN told the court that the agency served the counter on Friday, March 11 at about 2:50pm which gave little time for the reply until Monday morning in court.
The Judge adjourned the case to Monday, March 21 after EFCC lawyer, Gbolahan Latona confirmed that they received further and better affidavit adding that they needed more time to study the reply served on them.
Leave a reply