Be fair to Akpobolokemi’s lawyers, EFCC

A group under the auspices of Concerned Lawyers has raised the alarm over what they described as constant intimidation of Mr. Joseph Nwobike, SAN, the counsel representing former Director General of National Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr. Patrick Akpobolokemi, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, stressing that the commission should be called to order.

In a statement by its spokesperson in Lagos, Mr. Hanacho Alogie, the lawyers noted that: ‘’The manhandling of Dr Akpobolokemi at the premises of a Federal High Court in Lagos, in spite of the position of the law, is an abuse of power and an affront on rule of law, as a man is presumed innocent until proved guilty in a court of law.’’

 It also stated that: ‘’The latest in the series of harassments is the allegation leveled against Mr. Nwobike, by the commission. Is it in the position of the commission to discredit the guardians and custodians of the law? If all lawyers are actually corrupt as they claim, who would then defend the defenseless in the face of the commission’s seeming resolve to jail people without concrete evidence?’’ 

Alogie described EFCC’s penchant to disobey court orders as a dangerous development, stressing that if the trend is not stopped, it would gravely undermine the position of the judiciary as the last hope of the common man. The group also urged the commission to embrace the acceptable rules guiding prosecution of cases at the law court and shun methods alien to the rule of law.