By Nkechi Eze
A Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected a contractor’s bid to halt the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) from pursuing a $65 million money laundering case against him and his company.
A statement made available to newsmen reads: The Contractor, Mr. Tarry Rufus who is the Chief Executive of Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited, is being prosecuted by the ICPC alongside the former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Mr. Gimba Kumo Ya’u and the former Executive Director of FMBN, Mr. Bola Ogunsola, over an alleged diversion of $65,000,000 meant for the development of 962 units of residential housing in Kubwa District of Abuja.
Honourable Justice Yilwa H. Joseph of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja upheld that the evidence before the court proved that a prima facie case of alleged misappropriation had been established through legal investigation and thus the court could not hinder the ICPC “from carrying out and performing its statutory duties”.
She noted the Applicant’s suit of illegal detention did not hold water seeing as the court was not provided with evidence to prove so.
The court added that the inability of Mr. Rufus to “fulfil the bail conditions therefore, cannot be seen to have amounted to the breach of his fundamental rights by the ICPC and EFCC”.
ICPC had previously accused Mr. Rufus and his company, Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited of giving and receiving $3,550,000.00 of the contract sum in cash, in contravention of the Money Laundering Act.
They were also suspected of having directly converted the sum of N991,399,255 into $3,550,000.00 and handing over the same to one Jason Rosamond in cash, contrary to Section 18(2) (b) and punishable under Section 18 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
Mr. Rufus, however, in December 2023, filed an application in court to stop the ICPC and the EFCC from inviting or involving him in the case over the alleged $65 million fraud purportedly perpetrated by the Ex-managing Director of FMBN, Mr. Gimba Kumo Ya’u.
He argued in his application that he had committed no infraction while executing the contentious contract, asking that the court order both the ICPC and EFCC to release all documents of land title received on the occasion of administrative bail he was granted.
He further claimed in his application that his detention by ICPC during their investigation was unlawful and a violation of his fundamental human rights.
He subsequently implored the court to award N500 million against the ICPC, EFCC and FMBN “for initiating frivolous criminal persecution” against him.
ICPC Counsel O.B. Odogun argued that the statutory power of investigation vested in the Commission’s establishing Acts allows the Commission to examine petitions of alleged misappropriation with great care.
ICPC further maintained that Mr. Rufus had voluntarily honoured the Commission’s invitation to answer questions on suspicious cash flows from the account of Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited and that his inability to meet specified bail conditions was, in its entirety, his own responsibility.
