By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA—The Court of Appeal, Abuja, yesterday, threw out an application by one of the six suspects accused of complicity in the N32.8 billion Police pension scam, Mr. Esai Dangabar.

Dangabar had approached the appellate court, to set-aside an order made by the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Justice Lawal Gunmi, which gave Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, powers to take possession of his personal assets and equally freeze his bank accounts.

Justice Gunmi had directed that “all the 11 bank accounts currently being operated and maintained by Inuwa Wada at Keystone and Zenith banks, are hereby temporarily frozen until the determination of the charge Number FCT/Cr/64/2012.

“Similarly, all the bank accounts currently being operated and maintained by Esai Dangabar, Atiku Kigo and Veronica Onyegbula in the following banks: EcoBank, FCMB, Access Bank, Sky Bank, Fortis Micro Finance Bank, Aso Savings, GTB, Main Street Bank and Wema Bank are hereby temporarily frozen, pending the hearing and determination of all the said criminal charge No. FCT/64/2012 presently pending before this court.”

However, dissatisfied with the decision of the trial judge, Dangabar, headed to the Appeal Court, seeking to regain possession of his property which EFCC insisted were proceeds of fraud.

He argued that the forfeiture order breached his right to fair hearing as enshrined in Section 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, adding that the order of attachment and forfeiture made on May 3, 2012 was inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution as it takes away his property right and presumption of innocence.

In a unanimous decision read by Justice Kolawole Bada, yesterday, the Appeal Court resolved the three issues raised by Dangabar in favour of EFCC.

The court held that the interim forfeiture order pending the hearing of the criminal charge preferred against the accused person was provided for under the EFCC Act.