A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed an application by a contractor, Tarry Rufus, with which he had intended to stop the prosecution of his firm – Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited – by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) in relation to a $65million money laundering case.
According to a statement by ICPC’s spokesperson, Demola Bakare, Rufus is the Chief Executive of Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited, which 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 former Executive Director of FMBN, Mr. Bola Ogunsola, over an alleged diversion of $65million meant for the development of 962 units of residential housing in Kubwa District of Abuja.
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Bakare said, in a statement yesterday, that “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 of the contract sum in cash, in contravention of the Money Laundering Act.