An Akure High Court, in Ondo State has assumed jurisdiction over the trial of the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Bamidele Oloyelogun, and two others for alleged fraud involving the N2.4 million fund belonging to the Assembly.
Justice Adegboyega Adebusoye of Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arraign Oloyelogun, over the corruption charges filed against him.
Oloyelogun appeared in court on Wednesday to listen to the ruling of the court on his preliminary objection.
Delivering his ruling, Justice Adebusoye dismissed the preliminary objection the Speaker and the two others filed against their trial and ordered that they should be arraigned on 24 and 25 April.
The EFCC took Oleyelogun, another lawmaker, Felemu-Gudu Bankole, and a civil servant, Segun Oyadeyi to court for alleged misappropriation of N2.4 million belonging to the state House of Assembly.
The anti-graft commission accused the Speaker and the other defendants of misappropriating the said funds budgeted for a seminar billed to hold in Lagos.
At the hearing, the defendants argued that the EFCC has no jurisdiction over offences affecting the finances and assets of the Ondo State government on the grounds that there is a subsisting law enacted by the Assembly to tackle corruption allegations in the state.
In their preliminary objection filed by their counsel, Femi Emodamori, the accused persons prayed the court to decline jurisdiction and strike out the charges against them on the grounds that there is a subsisting State Public Complaint Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption Commission Law. The law was passed and signed by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu in January 2022.
However, counsel for the EFCC, Fredrick Dibang argued that the court has jurisdiction because the state law enacted by State Assembly is contrary to the Acts of the National Assembly that established EFCC. He noted that when there is a conflict between the law of a state and that of the National Assembly, the law of the state is suspended.
The EFCC counsel further argued that the passage of the said law by the House of Assembly was a ploy to frustrate the corruption charges leveled against the lawmakers and the civil servant.
Justice Adebusoye in his ruling set aside the state law and held that the EFCC has the power to investigate and prosecute the lawmakers for the alleged fraud.
Justice Adebusoye held: “The offences being against the defendants are not state offences promulgated by the state legislation but a federal offence, having been promulgated by the national assembly, though relates to finances of Ondo State.
“Without wasting the time of this court, it settles that the complainant is empowered to investigate and prosecute the three defendants on the two counts charge as stated in the information file, being federal offences and even though the alleged ones involved belong to the Ondo state government”, he ruled.
