The immediate past Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki has described the application to the Federal High Court, Lagos, for interim forfeiture order on his Ilorin home by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as an abuse of the court process and a violation of a subsisting order of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Saraki, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, also noted that the Federal High Court in Abuja presided by Justice Taiwo Taiwo had given an order “restraining the respondents (Commission) by themselves, their subordinates, agents, servants, or privies howsoever, from seizing, impounding, taking over, confiscating or otherwise forfeiting the Applicant’s (Saraki) right to own and peacefully enjoy any of his assets and properties”.
“The EFCC’s claim that the Ilorin property was built by any proceed of fraud is outrightly false.
“The fact is that the Ilorin property was built partly by the Kwara State Government pursuant to the Third Schedule of the Governor and Deputy Governor (Payment of Pension) Law 2010 while Dr. Saraki personally funded the remaining cost of the building.
“There are existing letters from the Office of the Head of Service of Kwara State notifying the former Governor (Saraki) of the State Government’s compliance with the State Pension for Governor’s law and the one indicating his intention to bear the cost of the additional expenditure that will arise from building the property to his desired taste dated 25th January 2012 and 8th February 2012 respectively,” the statement explained.
He stressed that the construction of the building did not commence until the last few weeks of his tenure as Governor and the bulk of his contribution to the funding were made with cheques.
“Where cash was involved, this was mainly in 2012 and 2013, more than a year after he had left office as Governor. So, where is the claim that the money for the construction of the house fraudulent obtained from Kwara State Government coming from? It should also be noted that the land on which the house is built is not a government allocated land.”
Saraki further alleged that the EFCC is playing politics and spreading falsehood in its attempt to witch-hunt and intimidate a perceived enemy.
While disclosing that Saraki will contest the matter in the court, the statement however noted that EFCC’s penchant for abusing the nation’s judicial institution is the reason why it filed a suit in Lagos on a property situate in Ilorin.
