Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has been accused of infringing the fundamental human rights of former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode with its jumping from one court to the order for remand warrant without informing his lawyer.
This was made public by Jude Ndukwe, media aide to Fani-Kayode. He alleged that Fani-Kayode’s lawyers had served the EFCC the court notices from a Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, 20th of May, 2016, but he was whisked to Lagos last Thursday and taken to an Ikeja Magistrate today where EFCC applied to keep him for another thirty days.
A statement he signed read: “This is a gross abuse of court processes and a denial of his fundamental human rights. It is even most shocking that EFCC attempted to take him to the magistrate court without notifying his lawyers or family members.
“His lawyers had to go from court to court in Lagos searching for venue of the court proceedings before they eventually traced it to Ikeja. This type of treatment to any citizen of our nation especially in a democratic era is, to say the least, inhuman.
“One wonders why a case already before a High Court was entertained in a magistrate court, and judgement given immediately. This smacks of nothing but vendetta. EFCC have no reasonable cause to continue to keep Chief Femi Fani-Kayode in their custody beyond the constitutional provision of 48 hours.
“He is not known to have either attempted to evade arrest nor resisted same. EFCC have since concluded their investigations by the virtue of details of the case they leaked out to the public through the press.
“So, they have no reason to keep having him in their custody without taking the noble option of charging him to court, after all, they have already kept him with them long enough. As an organisation that prides itself as a constitutionally responsible one, it is expected that holding a citizen endlessly would not be part of EFCC’s operations.
“If they have anything against Chief Fani-Kayode, one expects that they should charge him to court rather than obtaining contentious remand warrants from one court to the other. The EFCC had earlier obtained a similar remand warrant in Abuja to keep him for two weeks which has since elapsed.
“This latest action by EFCC has confirmed rumours making the rounds that the federal government wants to give the former Minister of Aviation the Dasuki/Naamdi Kanu treatment, a treatment alien to our laws but is fast becoming the norm under the current administration.”
