Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, restrained the Bauchi State government from prosecuting former governors Isa Yuguda and Mohammed Abubakar for alleged misappropriation of the state’s funds and assets, IgbereTV reports
An Assets and Funds Recovery Committee set up by Governor Bala Mohammed had indicted the ex-governors for alleged misappropriation of the state’s assets and funds to the tune of N321.5 billion.
In his ruling on a suit filed by Yuguda and Mohammed, the judge also nullified the indictment of the duo by the committee
Other respondents in the suit were the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The plaintiffs claimed that the committee set up by the governor to rubbish their reputation.
They added that the committee conducted its businesses without hearing from them, thereby denying them the right to a fair hearing as guaranteed under Section 36(1) of the constitution.
Yuguda and Mohammed contended that the Bauchi State Public Property and Funds Recovery Tribunal Law (2017) under which the committee was set up, has since been repealed by the state’s House of Assembly.
Justice Ekwo, who declared the committee as unlawful, restrained the state government from acting on the panel’s report to prosecute them.
He held that Bauchi State could not prove that its committee was validly set up
