The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, restrained the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) from confiscating the assets and property belonging to the immediate-past Governor of Zamfara, Abdulazeez Yari.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo, in a ruling in an ex-parte application for interim injunctions brought by Yari’s Counsel, Mahmud Magaji, SAN, also restrained the ICPC and AGF from interfering with Yari’s enjoyment of the rights enshrined in Sections 34, 35, 37, 41 and 43 of the Constitution.
Justice Taiwo also directed parties in the case to maintain status quo pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The judge said the orders made are to subsist pending the determination of the fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by the ex-governor.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Taiwo had, on Aug. 16, granted the ICPC’s request to freeze Yari’s accounts in Polaris and Zenith banks.
The judge, however, said that the orders made on Monday did not affect the earlier one relating to only accounts in the two banks.
NAN reports that the orders granted in the judge’s ruling on Monday include: “An order of interim injunction retraining the respondents from seizing, impounding, taking over, confiscating or otherwise forfeiting the assets and property of the applicant wherever they may be located within Nigeria or anywhere else in the world pending the hearing and determination of the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
“An order of interim injunction restraining the respondents from unlawfully interfering with the applicants‘ rights to Sections 34, 35, 37, 41 and 43 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) until the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
”An order of this honourable court directing the parties to maintain status quo pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
Yari, who was also the former Chairman Nigeria Governors Forum, in seeking the orders granted, argued that he had been subjected to various forms of intimidation, arrest and detention based on spurious allegations by some powerful elements of the APC against him to the agents of the 1st and 2nd respondents (AGF and ICPC).
“The applicant is the immediate-past Executive Governor of Zamfara and before then he was elected into the House of Representatives.
“The applicant states that he has been having series of harassment and intimidation by the agents of the respondent, some arising from the loss of the All Progressives Congress in Zamfara to the Peoples Democratic Party.
“The said loss arose from the decision of the Supreme Court wherein the court directed that all the elected officers in Zamfara should vacate office for the 2nd runner up of the 2019 General Election.”
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