By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
A Federal High Court in Lagos presided over by Justice Babs Kuewumi on Tuesday dismissed an application filed by four companies allegedly belonging to former first lady Dame Patience Jonathan, praying the court to reverse their earlier plea of guilty when they were arraigned along with three others in a $15.5million money laundering charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The companies which are Pluto Property and Investment Company Ltd; Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Ltd; Transocean Property and Investment Ltd and Globus Integrated Services Ltd, in their application, asked the court to reverse their guilty plea and nullify the previous proceedings on the ground that those who represented them then were not authorised to do so.
The EFCC had arraigned the four companies along with a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to President Jonathan, Dr Waripamo Dudafa, a legal practitioner and the companies’ secretary, Amajuoyi Briggs, and a banker, Adedamola Bolodeoku.
While the companies pleaded guilty and were convicted; Dudafa, Briggs and Bolodeoku pleaded not guilty to the 17-count charge levelled against them.
While moving the application counsel to the companies, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) told the court that his clients were not given a fair trial before their conviction because they had no legal representation of their choice.
Ozekhome submitted that he was only briefed to represent the companies after its directors pleaded guilty despite not being authorised by the board to do so.
In his motion seeking to set aside the companies conviction, Ozekhome argued that they were convicted “in gross violation” of the 1999 Constitution, which according to him, was a miscarriage of justice.
He prayed that the trial be start de novo (afresh), adding that the previous proceedings be declared null, void and unsustainable in law.
He submitted that the application is based on the fact that the court failed to pass a sentence on the convicted companies, as the judge reserved sentence until end of the other defendants’ trial.
Besides, Ozekhome argued that the companies were denied the right to cross-examine the purported directors who purportedly pleaded guilty.
“They are just busybodies and interlopers who were pressured to come and plead guilty. They had no mandate to do so,” he submitted.
In his counter,the prosecuting counsel Rotimi Oyedepo urged the court to refuse the application for being an abuse of court process.
According to him, “it amounted to asking the judge to revisit his ruling and to assume the position of an appellate court.”
Rotimi debunked the submission that the directors who pleaded guilty were not authorised to do so, contending there was evidence that they were indeed the companies’ directors from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and from the companies’ bank accounts.The matter had been adjourned till today for ruling
In his ruling on the arguements and submissions of counsel on Tuesday, Justice Kuewumi held that a lower court can only reverse itself in exceptional cases where there is “a serious procedural irregularity” or where the court lacks jurisdiction.
“The main issue to be addressed in this application is whether this court can revisit its earlier decision whereby the applicants were convicted. Once a court gives an order or judgment, it has no legal competence to reverse itself or set aside its previous order.
“Considering the circumstances of this case, I have not been shown any valid reason to make me revisit my decision. This court is already functus officio.
“I am in agreement with the prosecution that this application is incompetent. It is hereby refused and accordingly dismissed,” the judge held.
He thereafter adjourned the matter until October 17 for hearing.