Court Dismisses Corruption Charges Against Bayelsa APC Gubernatorial Candidate Sylva

Adeniyi Ademola, justice of the federal high court, Abuja, has struck out a case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Timipre Sylva, former governor of Bayelsa state. The EFCC had filed 50-count charge bordering on stealing to the tune of N19.2 billion, against Sylva. But on Thursday, Ademola struck out the case on the grounds that it was an abuse of court process. The judge held that the charges had been dismissed by two federal high courts, and a resuscitation was tantamount to an abuse of court process. He also held that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the criminal charges against Sylva, who is now the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa governorship election. In June, Ahmed Mohammed, a justice of the federal high court, Abuja, dismissed a 42-count charge of stealing which the EFCC brought against Sylva. The anti-graft agency later amended the charge, adding eight more charges, and brought the suit before Ademola. But the judge held that all the 50 charges were the same; hence the suit of the EFCC was a “regurgitation of a settled matter”. He also inferred that Sylva’s case was one of persecution by people who want to get at him at a cost using the EFCC. He thereafter dismissed the case against the accused person.

Culled from the Cable