By Godwin Anene
A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on Thursday restrained operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from arresting the Vice Chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Science, Prof Michael Diejomoah.
PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt, owned by former Rivers governor, Mr. Peter Odili.
Justice George Omereji who gave the restraining order also awarded seven hundred thousand naira (N700, 000) cost to be paid by EFCC to the applicant.
Prof. Diejomoah, in a fundamental right suit filed 6 May 2020, had asked the court to restrain EFFC from infringing on his fundamental right, including threatening him through phone calls inviting him without explanation on the invites.
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The anti-graft agency is yet to disclose why it is going after the VC of a university owned by Dr. Odili, but political and judiciary watchers assume it yet another attempt by EFCC to get at the former Rivers Governor, having failed to prosecute him directly based on a subsisting Supreme Court order.
Justice Omereji on Thursday’s ruling declared that the prosecution proved that the applicant had shown that the letter sent to the office of the applicant in Lagos by the respondent with several calls of threat to arrest shows EFCC infringed on his right.
He said the infringement was based on the inability of the EFCC to respond to the applicant lawyer after writting to the commission to explained reasons for the invite.
Golden Tamuno, counsel to the applicant, Prof Diejomoah, stressed, following the judgement that the commission has failed to explain what the applicant did to warrant his invites and threats of arrest.
