Court dismisses Malami’s bail application, upholds EFCC remand order

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court has rejectedan application by Abubakar Malami, former attorney-general of the federationand minister of justice, seeking bail from the custody of the Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In a ruling on Thursday, Babangida Hassan, the presidingjudge, said Malami’s detention was lawful and backed by a valid court order. Malami, a senior advocate of Nigeria, had approached thecourt through his counsel, Sulaiman Hassan, arguing that his continueddetention by the EFCC in the course of an ongoing investigation was illegal andviolated his constitutional right to personal liberty. The EFCC, however, countered the application, insisting thatMalami was being held pursuant to a remand order lawfully obtained from anotherFCT high court. J.S. Okutepa, counsel to the EFCC, told the court that theorder was issued by S.C. Oriji in accordance with the provisions of theAdministration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA). Okutepa said the commission had acted within the bounds ofthe law and would not detain any suspect beyond the period authorised by thecourt. In his decision, the judge agreed with the EFCC’s position,noting that both the constitution and the ACJA recognise detention based on avalid remand order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. The judge ruled that the application before him wasprocedurally flawed, as it effectively invited the court to review or overturnan order made by another court of equal standing. “Granting this application would amount to this courtsitting as an appellate court over the decision of a court of coordinatejurisdiction,” Hassan held, adding that such a step was outside the powers ofthe court.

Read More