A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja and presided over by Justice Quadri has adjourned a suit seeking to remove Ibrahim Magu as the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to June 29, 2017.
As the Originating Summons came up for hearing, the plaintiff, Barrister Johnmary Chukwukasi Jideobi, who represented himself, informed the court that Ibrahim Magu and the EFCC (the 3rd and 4th Defendants) just served him their counter affidavit and written addresses just this morning in the court room despite filing the said processes since April 3, 2017. The plaintiff invited the court to take note of the unhealthy conduct of Magu and EFCC by deliberately refusing to serve him much earlier despite the fact that he has been calling them and demanding for the processes. He submitted that the conduct of the 3rd and 4th defendants constituted an unhealthy drag on speedy administration of justice.
As a result, the plaintiff sought for a short adjournment to enable him file a further affidavit and do a composite reply to the defendants’ processes. The defendants did not oppose the application for adjournment. The Senate was not represented despite being served with a hearing notice on Friday, May 26, 2017.
Before the court adjourned the matter, a mild drama played out when the plaintiff sought the leave of the court to make a very “salient observation”. The plaintiff alleged that since the last four or five days he has been receiving threatening calls from masked numbers warning him to withdraw the matter or he would not be alive to hear the court’s judgment on the matter. In his words: “My Lord, since the last four or five days, I have been receiving calls from unknown numbers demanding that I withdraw the present suit. I do not know who they are, who sent them or who they are working for. But their messages have always been one and the same which is that if I do not withdraw the present suit, I will not be alive to her the judgment of the court in the matter. I perfectly appreciate the weight of this concern which I have decided to share in the open court. Being a lawyer, I appreciate the weight of my complaint and I make this complaint with a very sense of responsibility since it borders on threat to my own life. I do not belong to any other institution. This is where I belong and this institution should protect me.”
After noting his concern, the presiding Judge, Hon. Justice Quadri, encouraged him to petition the relevant security agencies who could use advanced technology like the GPS to unmask and track the phone numbers. The plaintiff replied that he had instructed his Lawyers to address his petition to the Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Service (DSS).