Court frees Timipre Sylva of N19.2bn fraud charges

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday dismissed the N19.2bn fraud charges instituted against a former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva.

This came nine days after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission dropped six counts of N2.45bn against him.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed, by Wednesday ruling on a notice of preliminary objection filed by Sylva, dismissed the N19.2bn charges as an abuse of court process. This brought to an end all pending EFCC cases against the former governor.



The judge held on Wednesday that the N19.2bn charge instituted against Sylva by the EFCC was an abuse of court process since it was based on the same set of transactions involved in the N2.45bn charge that was recently dropped.

Justice Evoh Chukwu of the same Federal High Court in Abuja had on June 1, 2015, struck out the six counts of N2.45bn charges, after the EFCC filed and moved an application withdrawing them.

But Justice Mohammed also held on Wednesday that the EFCC attempted to interfere with the administration of justice by withdrawing the N2.45bn charges after the court had heard and adjourned for ruling on Sylva’s notice of preliminary objection complaining of the multiplicity of the charges filed against him by the EFCC.

The judge also held that the withdrawal of the charges before Justice Chukwu was an admission on the part of the prosecution that the N19.2bn charges were an abuse of court process.

Justice Mohammed held, “It is thus clear that even with the withdrawal of charge at Court 8, when a ruling is being awaited in the application to quash the charge before this court, is in itself an abuse of court process.

“The withdrawal of the charge at Court 8 (Justice Chukwu’s court) is clearly intended to interfere with the decision of the court on the motion dated May 15, 2015 (Sylva’s notice of preliminary objection).

“It is nothing but an attempt to interfere with the administration of justice.

“It is also a clear admission that by the prosecution that both charges in Court 8 and this court should not exist side by side.”

Justice Mohammed said if the prosecution was ready to prosecute the accused person, it ought to withdraw the charges that were before his court since they were the ones filed later than the ones before Justice Chukwu.

The judge held, “By withdrawing the charge at Court 8, the prosecution didn’t really want to prosecute the matter.

“I say so because the allegation of abuse is against the charge before this court.

“Whatever decision the prosecution arrived at did not prevent them from continuing the charge at Court 8, since it was earlier in time and was not targeted by the allegation of abuse.

“Based on the above findings, the charge, FHC/ABJ/CR/167/2013, amounted to an abuse of court and same is accordingly dismissed.”

The earlier withdrawal of the N2.45bn charges and the Wednesday’s ruling within 10 days brought to an abrupt end two cases that had been pending since 2012 and 2013 respectively.

Sylva was arraigned for the N19.2bn charges in 2012, alongside the Nide Francis Okonkwo, Gbenga Balogun and Samuel Ogbuku.

They were alleged to have used three companies – Marlin Maritime Ltd, Eat Catering Services Ltd, and Haloween-Blue Construction and Logistics Ltd to move the N19.2bn from the treasury of Bayelsa State Government between 2009 and 2012, under false pretence of using the withdrawn money to augment salaries of the state government workers.

The EFCC had on May 18, 2015 re-arraigned Sylva on six counts of N2.45bn fraud before Justice Evoh Chukwu.

Following the withdrawal of the former prosecuting counsel, Mr. Festus Keyamo, from the case on May 25, 2015, it was handed over to the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. M.S Diri.

But instead of the DPP appearing in court on June 1, 2015, for the commencement of trial, the DPP issued a fiat to a private lawyer, O.J. Nnadi (SAN), to continue prosecuting the case.

Nnadi, during the proceedings of June 1, 2015, tendered the freshly issued fiat before the court and told the judge that the EFCC had instructed him to withdraw the suit. He then urged the court to strike out the case.

Sylva’s lawyer, Mr. Israel Olorundare (SAN), did not oppose the application for the withdrawal of the suit.

He urged the court to strike it out as prayed by the prosecution but he also urged the court to order the release of his client’s passport which had been in the custody of the court since he was first arraigned in 2012.

Olorundare also urged the court to restrain the EFCC from arresting Sylva based on the charges that were withdrawn.

While Nnadi did not oppose the release of ýSylva’s passport to him, the lawyer said the court could not possibly give any order in anticipation of his arrest.

Justice Chukwu, in his ruling, struck out the case as he held that the Attorney-General of the Federation possessed the power under the constitution to delegate his power to issue a fiat as it was done in the case.

The judge also ordered that Sylva’s passport be released to him with the striking out of his case before the court.

The EFCC had on May 18, 2015 re-arraigned Sylva for the offences he allegedly committed between October 2009 and February 2010 as governor of Bayelsa State.

Sylva had earlier pleaded not guilty to the six counts when he was first arraigned for the offences before Justice Adamu Bello (retd.) on June 5, 2012.

The matter had to start de novo (afresh) following the retirement of Justice ýBello, a development which prompted Sylva’s re-arraignment before Justice Chukwu.

Sylva was accused of offences, including conversion of various sums of money belonging to the state with the aim of concealing their illicit origins.

He was accused of knowing the illegal sources of the money and allegedly converted the funds through ýthe bank accounts of a Bureau de Change operator, a company and other individuals in order to conceal their illicit origin.

He was also accused of inducingý Union Bank Plc to fraudulently grant him N2bn overdraft facility under the pretext of using the money to augment workers’ salary.

He allegedly committed the offences in conspiracy with other unnamed persons said to be at large.