The acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, may have been hiding to evade service of court summon on the detention of a legal practitioner, Monday Ubani, who is challenging the detention at a Federal Capital Territory High Court.
Thus, the evasion or resistance of the service of court summon made the FCT High Court sitting in Apo to on Tuesday grant leave for substituted service of the notice of summon on Magu.
Justice Silvanus Oriji had granted the order of substituted service having after listened to the submissions of Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, counsel to Monday Ubani, Abuja-based lawyer, and a former Senator, Christopher Enai.
Oriji had on March 26 granted leave to an exparte motion filed by Ozekhome to charge Ubani and Enai to court or release them on bail on or before March, 28.
The judge insisted that the court has the power to make an order for substituted service of the process where it appears that prompt service cannot be conveniently effected.
”In exercise of the power of the court under Order 7 rule 11, I grant this motion,” he said.
The judge noted since the bailiff, Ishaya Markus, was denied access to Magu by the armed security personnel at his office at the EFCC Headquarters, he, then, had the duty to order a substituted means.
Ozekhome had informed the court that the security operatives told the bailiff that he can only see Magu on invitation.
Ozekhome, in the motion exparte prayed the court to order form 48 and 49 be served on any officer at the mail registry of the Chairman of the EFCC and legal Department at Headquarters in Jabi.
He also prayed an order of the court by posting same at the gate of the head office of EFCC.
Ubani, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikeja branch, Lagos, and Enai, ex-senator, representing Bayelsa, were invited and detained by the EFCC operatives on March19.
The applicants were detained for standing as sureties for Ngozi Olejeme, who once served as the Chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund from 2009 to 2015. They are yet to be charged to court by the EFCC.
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