Nation
Court Dismisses EFCC’s Application To Cross-Examine Ex-NNPC GMD
The Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday, dismissed an application by EFCC to cross-examine former Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed, in a ruling, sustained the objection raised by Ahmed Raji, SAN, counsel to Mr Yakubu.
Raji had, on July 22, disagreed with the EFCC’s Lawyer, Mohammed Abubakar, on his plan to cross-examine his client, who is the first defence witness (DW1), based on Exhibit “J”.
Exhibit J borders on a case with suit number: FHC/ABJ/CR/121/2016, which was instituted by the anti-graft agency in 2016 before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba when Yakubu was GMD of NNPC.
The case, which is still ongoing, involves an oil company, Atlantic Energy Brass Development Ltd., in which Yakubu was initially the 7th defendant in the suit and was later dropped to become the first prosecution witness in the matter bordering on illegal lifting of crude oil.
Raji had argued that Exhibit J, which the EFCC lawyer planned to take Yakubu on, was irrelevant to the case at hand.
He objected to the propriety of the prosecution to cross-examine the ex-GMD on the exhibit which he said was tendered in respect of counts one and two whose counts had been struck out pursuant to the orders of the Court of Appeal in its judgment dated April 24.
According to Raji, counts one and two having been struck out by the Court of Appeal; Exhibit J which was tendered thereof has become irrelevant as far as counts three and four are concerned.
Our source reports that the EFCC had, in 2017, raided the residence of the ex-NNPC boss in Kaduna State and found 9,772, 800 dollars and 74, 000 pounds (9.7 million dollars and 74, 000 pounds) in a safe.
Yakubu was, however, arraigned on March 16, 2017 on six counts but was ordered by the Court of Appeal to defend counts 3 and 4 which bordered on failure to make full disclosure of assets, receiving cash without going through a financial institution and intent to avoid a lawful transaction.
The EFCC alleged that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 1(1) of the Money Laundering Act, 2011 and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the Act.
In his ruling yester-day, Justice Mohammed said it was not in doubt that by the judgment of the Court of Appeal alluded to above, the defendant (Yakubu) was specifically ordered to enter his defence on counts three and four only while being discharged of other counts.
“To determine whether Exhibit J is relevant for determination of counts three and four, I deem it as expedient at this stage,” he said.
Making reference to count three and four, the judge noted that it was alleged that Yakubu received the cash payments of 9.7 million dollars and 74, 000 pounds and thereby committed offence punishable under the relevant Act
Mohammed, who cited sections of the Evidence Act, described relevance as logically connected and tending to prove or disprove a matter or an issue.
He held that relevancy is the heart beat of laws of evidence.
“I equally find no hesitation in discountenancing the submission of the learner counsel to prosecution that the case applies only to civil cases,” he said.
He then upheld the argument of the defence counsel that there was a limit a party could be allowed to cross-examine a witness.
The judge ruled that Exhibit J was not relevant to the prove or disprove of counts three and four of the charge for which the defendant was standing trial.
“To allow the prosecution cross-examine the defendant on the contents of Exhibit “ J” which have already found to be irrelevant will amount to absolute waste of precious judicial time,” he said.
Justice Mohammed, who noted that counsel to the prosecution was only approbating and reprobating in his argument, therefore sustained the objection of the defence counsel.
“The prosecution is not allowed to cross-examine the DW1 on the contents of Exhibit J which exhibit is not relevant to counts three and four now pending before the court,” he ruled.
The judge adjourned the matter until Nov. 30 for trial continuation.
NAN reports Abubakar, told the court that Exhibit J was relevant in proving whether or not there had been a predicate offence to counts three and four.
According to him, we further submit that the same Exhibit J is also relevant to some matters which DW1 has testified about both in evidence-in-chief and under cross-examination.
Strategic regulators and other stakeholders have expressed satisfaction with the pace, quality and magnitude of work carried out by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) in Ogoniland, in line with the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
In their separate speeches at the 2025 4th quarter key regulators / asset owners meeting held in Port Harcourt, the strategic stakeholders commended HYPREP for the significant milestones achieved with excellent efficiency and transparency, demonstrating capacity and commitment to sustaining collaboration with development partners for the overall success of the Project.
The regulators particularly lauded HYPREP for the landmark success in the implementation of the land and shoreline remediation, mangrove restoration, provision of reticulated potable water, the various sustainable livelihood programmes, donation of ambulances to health facilities in Ogoni, the construction of Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, as well as the ongoing Ogoni Power Project, adding that their independent field reports have shown proofs of HYPREP driving even beyond its mandates.
The goodwill messages were made by representatives of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Centre for Environment and Human Rights Development (CEHRD), Society for Women and Youths Affairs (SWAYA), Stakeholders Democracy Network (SDN), Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC), and Federal Ministry of Environment. Others are the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, the Rivers State Ministry of Health, the National Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Rivers State Ministry of Power, the Rivers State University, the Rivers State Ministry of Water and Rural Development, and Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited.
Following the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit’s presentation on the status of HYPREP projects, participants offered feedback on areas of concern. They reassured HYPREP and the people of Ogoni of their continued support for the Project’s success. They also suggested that the quarterly review meeting be sustained as it enables them to report, evaluate and proffer solutions to areas of concern.
Participants also commended HYPREP for improved community and stakeholder engagement and for adding to what they saw the previous time. “We commend HYPREP for the quality work done at sites. The progress is phenomenal, because HYPREP is scoring good grades, above average,” Prof. Iyenemi Kakulu from Rivers State University said.
In his speech at the event, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, who was represented by Prof Damian-Paul Aguiyi, Director of Technical Services, commended the regulators and asset owners for their cooperation with the Project, and for making themselves available for fieldwork and the regular review meetings.
Prof Zabbey reiterated HYPREP’s commitment to best practice in waste management, particularly waste generation and disposal, calling on the Regulators for adequate logistics support, saying HYPREP’s priority is to focus on the core recommendations by UNEP, especially, remediation(soil, shoreline) mangrove restoration, provision of potable water, interventions in public health care services and sustainable livelihood for the people.
The Project Coordinator further highlighted the status of the Project, the successes achieved across all thematic areas, and assured that HYPREP will soon complete most of the ongoing projects and roll out others. He explained that the purpose of the meeting was to review the progress of the Ogoni cleanup, ensure quality control, and foster effective collaboration.
Consequently, the quarterly key regulators/asset owners meeting is HYPREP’s strategic stakeholder management model, further underscoring the Project’s commitment to transparency, partnership for development, and accountability, all of which are harbingers of effective project delivery.
Speaking to newsmen, HYPREP Project Support Lead and representative of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, Engr Ehioze Igbinomwanhia, described his involvement with HYPREPas an encouraging and insightful experience, saying, the Project is implementing a wide range of projects across Ogoniland, spanning immediate remediation works as well as livelihood support initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of affected communities.
Engr Igbinomwanhia emphasised that Renaissance Africa Energy remains fully committed to supporting the objectives of the Ogoni cleanup project, noting that the company has a long history of collaboration with HYPREP.
He added that the partnership has been characterised by continuous learning, adaptation and a willingness to respond to observations and recommendations aimed at improving outcomes.
He further emphasised the importance of safety in all project operations, particularly given the challenging terrain and operating conditions in Ogoniland.
He noted that safety is treated as a critical priority and that contractors are continually reminded to maintain high safety standards, stressing that lessons learnt from previous operational challenges like the collapse of the water tank in Gwara Community are being applied to strengthen safety practices and overall performance.
The Rivers state Government has identified six local government areas with the highest burden of maternal and Neonatal mortality in the state.
State Commissioner for Health Dr Adaeze Chidinma Oreh said this in an interview with newsmen at the Maternal and Neonatal Reduction innovation initiative ( Mamii)Rivers state activation workshop and state engagement meeting in Port Harcourt.
The event was organized by The Federal Ministry of Health in conjunction with its Rivers state counterpart in Port Harcourt.
Dr Oreh also restated the preparedness of the state government to support current efforts by the federal government towards the reduction of maternal and infant mortalities in the country.
She mentioned the affected Local Government Areas to include, Andoni,Akuku Toru and Ahoada West
The rest according to the Commissioner are, Bonny, Etche and Emohua Local Government Areas.
She said the workshop will enable the team from the federal ministry of health and social welfare to brainstorm with the view to finding solution to the problem.
The Commissioner also gave reasons why the Mamii initiative was the best as far as finding solution to maternal mortality was concerned.
“The uniqueness of the Mamii initiative driven by the federal ministry of health and social welfare was that we used evidence to elicit the reasons for this deaths, so that the solutions will be context specific and tailored to the particular environment where those deaths are occuring
“For us in Rivers state we have six Mamii LGAs , nationally we we have 172 local government areas “the Commissioner said.
Earlier in her opening remarks,Dr Oreh said the state government is prepared to work with the federal ministry of health and social welfare to check the rate of maternal mortality in the state.
She commended The Minister of Health and Social welfare Professor Ali Muhammad Pategi for driving the Mamii initiative across the country and expressed optimism that the programm will see to the end of maternal mortality in the country.
Also speaking the National Coordinator Nigeria health sector Renewal Initiative Dr Adam Ahmed said Rivers state is the last state among Mamii states in the country to host the team.
He said the team will visit the affected Local Government Areas with the view to interacting with the people on how to check the trend.
He expressed the hope that with continuous efforts, maternal mortality will be checked.
Also speaking the permanent secretary Rivers state Ministry of Health Professor Justinah Jumbo said the government is not leaving any stone unturned towards reduction in maternal deaths.
The permanent secretary said Governor Siminalaye Fubara is a health friendly Governor who is desirous in improving the quality of health of Rivers people.
John Bibor
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