Rotimi Morgan/
The Attorney General (AG) of Sokoto State, Suleiman Usman, is set to take over the prosecution of corruption charges against a serving commissioner in the state, Mohammed Bello, from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The accused was also a Permanent Secretary for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the administration of ex-governor, Aliyu Wamakko.
The development followed a ruling, on Tuesday, by Justice Idrissa Kolo, on the fiat by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), which purportedly allows the Attorney General of a state to take over criminal cases, being prosecuted by any agency of the government, including the EFCC.
The initial fiat attached to the application of the AG of Sokoto State was dated 30 January, 1995 and was authored by Chief M.A. Agbamuche (SAN), the then AGF. It was later replaced by another, dated 30th January, 2017, authored by the incumbent AGF.
The case with charge No. FHC/S/22C/2014, between the Federal Government of Nigeria and Mohammed Bello, Abubakar Abdullahi Ahmed, Rose Gallery Nigeria Limited, Silver Spring Global Concept Limited and Sitex Multiservice Limited, has been under prosecution by the EFCC since 2014 before Justice R.M Aikawa of the Federal High Court Sokoto, who was recently transferred to the Lagos division of the court.
The defendants were charged with 43 counts, which border on money laundering and forgery.
The charges followed an investigation which uncovered that money running into hundreds of millions was diverted by the first and second defendants during the first defendant’s tenure as Permanent Secretary .
The reason given by the AG of Sokoto State for the takeover of the case was to serve the interest of justice, public interest and to make sure that the legal process is not abused.
The prosecution counsel, S.K Atteh, in his response, expressed fears about how a serving commissioner can diligently prosecute his fellow commissioner in a manner that will serve the interest of justice and public good.
The then trial judge, R.M Aikawa, made an order asking the AGF to either appear in person or send a representative or write to the court to clarify whether or not he had authorised the AG of Sokoto State to take over the prosecution of the case.
But, after listening to arguments from both sides, Justice Kolo held that the application for the takeover of the case by the AG of Sokoto State was in order and in line with the provisions of the constitution.
He, therefore, granted the application as prayed by the state and advised parties dissatisfied with the decision to seek redress at the appellate court.