ICPC Chair Appears In Court Over ALGON’s Suit Against Contract Investigation

By Abdullahi Yusuf

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), appeared in Kano High Court on Thursday, presided over by Justice Ibrahim Musa Karaye, to respond to a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by the Association of Local Government Chairmen (ALGON) Chairman and 43 Local Government Areas (LGAs) Caretaker Committee.

The suit seeks to restrain the ICPC and other law enforcement agencies from investigating the award of contracts by the Applicants

Counsel to the Applicants, Barrister Shamsu Ubale Jibrin, said his clients approached the court seeking legal interpretation on whether it is trite in law for seven government agencies to launch an investigation into a single matter at the same time, describing the incident as an abuse of court processes, frivolous, and unconstitutional.

He pointed out that he approached the court to enforce the rights of the applicants.

The Counsel alleged that the ICPC and Kano State Anti-Corruption Commission had violated the court’s interim order restraining the respondents from further action pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

He maintained that the order was served on the respondents a day after it was issued, stressing that the respondents violated the order on September 6, 2024.

At the resumption of the case on Thursday, Counsel to the Applicants told the court that he had filed two applications: one for contempt proceedings against the ICPC and Anti-Corruption Commission, and another seeking the court to prohibit the respondents from further action until they comply.

In his response, the ICPC Chairman, Dr. Aliyu (SAN), said the Applicants’ Counsel misled the court to obtain an interim order against the commission.

The Chairman submitted that lawyers should be ministers in the temple of justice, stressing that the person the commission invited was one Abdullahi Aliyu Dederi, who is the Caretaker Chairman of Karaye LGA.

He noted that Dederi is not a party to this suit.

“This suit was filed by 44 LGAs Chairmen of Kano State, and the ICPC invited one Abdullahi Aliyu Dederi, who was a caretaker of Karaye LGA. Dederi is not a party to this suit, and I can describe him as an imposter.

“Pursuant to the provision of section 122 of the Evidence Act, I urge this honourable court to take judicial notice that earlier in March, the Kano State Governor sent Dederi and 43 others to the Kano State House of Assembly for confirmation as Caretaker Chairmen of 44 LGAs in Kano State.”

The Chairman argued that Dederi and 43 others have been managing the Local Governments’ funds, arguing that the Applicants want to use the court to continue managing the 44 LGAs’ funds.

Relying on a Supreme Court judgement delivered on July 11, 2024, the ICPC Chairman explained that no person shall be considered as a Local Government Caretaker contrary to the judgement.

He further submitted that Dederi lacks the legal power to file the suit.

The Chairman highlighted that by the provision of section 287 (1) of the Constitution, the decision of the Supreme Court is binding, noting that the EFCC has the right to enforce it.

Dr. Musa consequently prayed the court to hear the application for contempt before taking other applications to decide whether the Commission defied the court order or not.

Having not raised any objections from the Counsel involved in the case, the trial judge remitted the case file to the Kano Chief Judge for reassignment to another judge to handle the contempt proceeding.