Justice A. I. Kutigi of Abuja High Court has dismissed a suit that was filed against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, by the Managing Director of Izuogu Motors Limited, Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu, asking to be paid N200million as damages over his alleged unlawful detention.

Izuogu had approached the court to stop the EFCC from arresting and investigating him over a petition that was entered against him by one Dr. Catherine Okpareke who alleged that the plaintiff defrauded her to the tune of N20 million.

However, in his suit, Izuogu, prayed the court to declare his arrest and interrogation on April 15, 2013, illegal, unlawful and a breach of his fundamental human right.

He also  prayed the court to compel the EFCC to pay him N200 million as special damages and N2 million as legal fees.

In the course of trial, the EFCC applied that the suit should be dismissed for want of merit, insisting that it never did anything outside its mandate.

EFCC, told the court that the invitation extended to Izuogu, his interrogation and subsequent release was a fall-out of a petition that accused him of engaging in fraudulent acts.

“Everything that was done was within the mandate of the Commission”, EFCC lawyer, Benjamin Manji argued.
Meanwhile, in his ruling, Justice Kutigi, while dismissing the reliefs sought by Izuogu in its entirety, said the invitation extended to the plaintiff and his subsequent release by the EFCC did not  amount to an infringement of his fundamental human rights.

The court held that going by the provision of Sections 6 of the EFCC Act, the anti-graft agency, has the powers to investigate economic crimes.