Court Affirms ICPC’s Powers To Declare Former NSCDC Deputy Commandant Wanted

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, headed by Justice Evoh Chukwu, has affirmed that the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission never infringed on Mbuotidem Daniel Akpan Edike’s fundamental human rights by declaring him wanted on the pages of newspapers. Akpan Edike, who was a Deputy Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps had sought an order of the court seeking to declare the publication purportedly declaring him wanted by the commission as a breach of his own fundamental right to liberty, in which he had also sought N10 million in damages against the commission. At the resumed hearing of the matter in which the trial judge delivered a ruling, counsel to the applicant Catherine Anene, and counsel to the respondent, O. G. Iwuagwu, readopted their addresses having elapsed the duration period before ruling, as stipulated by the constitution. The applicant in the suit instituted against the commission had earlier argued that the commission breached his fundamental rights, as he was not properly invited for investigation before ICPC declared him wanted in a newspaper advertorial. Counsel to the commission had argued that the commission invited the applicant through his workplace (NSCDC) only for the corp office to write back to the commission informing it that the applicant under investigation had absconded from work without leave. The applicant was said to have requested for a study leave, which was not approved, but then went ahead. Even at that, the ICPC sent another invitation to a business address linked to the culprit, but his lawyers said the letter was sent wrongly. Therefore the commission took the pain to send another through his lawyers, which was acknowledged in 2013. The trial judge in his ruling, averred that the anti corruption agency having provided the court with sufficient evidence in support of its invitations sent to the applicant, it was clearly obvious that the respondents (ICPC and its Chairman) “did everything humanly possible to invite the applicant” for investigation into a petition against him. On this premise, Justice Chukwu ruled in favour of the commission, ordering the applicant to bear the cost of the litigation in the sum of N50,000 to the commission.