LET US TALK ABOUT THE EFCC’S BOSS

If you have read my write up on the ASUU/FG clash, you would realize that I had chipped in a little bit of what Contempt of Court is all about. However, let me reiterate it here. The norm is that Judges make orders that are to be obeyed by the parties to an action. If the order is not obeyed, the party refusing to obey the order is said to be in contempt of Court (a Contemnor). When this happens, the other party can bring an application before the Court (not necessarily the same Judge), asking the court to hold the contemnor in contempt of Court. When the party who needs the order obeyed, brings a proper application (usually a Motion) to the court, the court would issue what we call forms 48 & 49 to the erring party. The main purpose of these forms is to inform the erring party of the said application and give him an opportunity to explain to the Court why he/she should not be convicted for Contempt and sent to prison. On receiving the forms, the erring party is to file a process and defend himself. The Court then decides whether or not the erring party is guilty of Contempt, and if it decides so, the Contemnor is sent to prison where he/she is to remain until the order is obeyed, or the Court of Appeal states otherwise.

BAWA’S CASE

Now we have a slight understanding of what Contempt of Court is, and how it goes. Let us dig into this matter.

The EFCC in carrying out its prosecutorial duty had charged one Mr. Ojuawo on a two-count charge before the FCT High Court Judge in 2016. The Commission had seized the sum of N40,000,000.00 (Forty Million Naira) and a Range Rover Sport (Supercharged) from Mr. Rufus Ojuawo as either proceeds of the crime or evidence of the crime. The Federal High Court had at the conclusion of the trial discharged and acquitted Mr. Ojuawo.

On the 21^st day of November, 2018 an Order by Honourable Justice Chizoba Orji of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered that the sum of N40,000,000.00 (Forty Million Naira) which had been paid into ONSA recovery account and the Range Rover Sport (Supercharged) be returned to Mr. Ojuawo. Case closed.

Mr. Rufus Ojuawo brought a motion on notice, which the Court ruled on the October 28^th, 2022, that the Chairman having continued willfully in disobedience to the order of the Court which was made almost four years ago, he should be committed to prison at Kuje Correctional Center until he purges himself of the contempt. The Court also made an order that the Inspector-General of Police should make the arrest.

Let us get a few things straight.

1. The office of the EFCC chairman is statutory. The appointment is by Mr. President and can be changed by Mr. President. Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa became EFCC boss in March, 2022, long after the first order was made.
2. This contempt is not against Abdulrasheed Bawa’s person, but the office of the Chairman which he is currently occupying.

The EFCC has come out to condemn the contempt order made by the Judge, and I am here wondering why. The Commission brought out the point that Mr. Bawa was not yet chairman when the first order was made. I do not believe this would hold any water. The fact that the order was made when he was not yet chairman, does not mean, it should not have been obeyed by him, neither can a contempt proceeding not be brought against him. Remember, it is the office of the chairman we are talking about. The action is against the Chairman of the EFCC, it doesn’t matter who was on sit when it happened.

The commission has also said that the car in question was released by the commission on 27^th June, 2022 to Mr. Rufus Ojuawo, and that the Chairman had approved the process for the release of the said N40 million. This would mean that the Commission is saying that the Chairman actually complied with the order.

The third issue is that, the commission claims that the Chairman was neither served form 48 nor form 49. This is where I have slight issue. As a lawyer, I know that “service is very important”. As a matter of fact, without service, a Court has no jurisdiction (i.e power/right) to hear a matter. If Bawa was not served, then he was not given fair hearing. The Court didn’t hear his side of the story as to whether he had complied with the order or not. This would be a big issue at the Court of Appeal. It is enough for the Court of Appeal to upturn the contempt order.

Let us take a quick look at something. Did I not just say that it is the seat of the Chairman of the EFCC that was held to be in contempt? Why then is EFCC saying that Mr. Bawa was not served with Form 48 and Form 49? The questions to be answered here are, when did Mr. Rufus Ojuawo file his motion on Notice? When did he serve (that is assuming he served) the said Motion? It is possible that the Motion was filed and served on EFCC before Bawa was made chairman. That is before 2022, and whoever was chairman received the forms. The thing is that Forms 48 and 49 must be served personally on the alleged contemnor. Some lawyers would argue that if it was the former chairman that was served, then it cannot hold, since Mr. Bawa was not “personally” served. This means that Mr. Rufus Ojuawo would have had to serve again in 2022. Others would argue that it is the seat of the chairman that needs to be served. So as long as the chairman was served, anyone that is appointed as the chairman, would automatically inherit all that pertains to the seat. I guess the Court of Appeal Justices would look into this.

The question really is, did Mr. Rufus Ojuawo serve the forms?

But then again, I cannot imagine how anyone would make the mistake of not serving a Form 48 or Form 49, and no judge, to my best of knowledge, would fall into the trap of commencing a contempt proceeding without proof of service in the court file.

The last thing the Commission said was that it had appealed the contempt order. Good for them. I hope the Commission has it at the back of its mind that apart from proving that the Chairman was not served with the necessary forms (which seems to be their case now), it has to prove that it has complied with the order.

The law as we know it is, the fact that you believe an order was wrongly made, does not give you the right to disobey or flout it. So, the commission has to attach to the documents it intends to file at the Court of Appeal, prove that it has released the said car to Mr. Rufus Ojuawo, and that the said sum of N40,000,000.00 is in the process of being released, although, I believe that the Justices might insist that the sum enters Mr. Rufus Ojuawo’s account first.

If you ask me, this is a good thing. The heads of these agencies should be held accountable for the actions and inactions of their staff. And no one should treat the Courts with contempt. Absolutely no one.

WHY IS BAWA NOT IN PRISON?

The truth is, no one walks into Kuje Correctional Center and submits himself to the DC of the prison. Or is that what you want Bawa to do? The Court had ordered that the Inspector General of Police was to make sure that the contempt order was executed. In other words, the IGP was to effect the arrest and take Bawa to Prison. If the IGP fails to do so, then Bawa cannot be held responsible for that.