•Agunloye with EFCC logo
Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of a Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja, has declined to hear the preliminary objection by the Former Minister of power, Mister Olu Agunloye, challenging the power of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prosecute him on the alleged $6bn Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station fraud.
The judge held that the application was not ripe for hearing. He subsequently adjourned the matter till February 26, 2024, reports Channels TV.
In the preliminary objection, Agunloye is seeking an order prohibiting the EFCC from further prosecuting the instant charge against him.
Agunloye also said the alleged offences in the charge were on his activities as a public officer where he was alleged to have awarded the contract without budgetary provision, approval, and cash backing.
He further said that another of the charges bothered alleged disobedience of the directives of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and forgery of a letter dated May 22, 2003
Mister Agunloye was arraigned on a seven-count charge bordering on the fraudulent award of a contract and official corruption in January 2024.
