BEVERLY HILLS, February 10, (THEWILL) – Human Rights lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN on Thursday alleged that last week’s freezing of his account by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, was a calculated attempt to ridicule him for defending the Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose in court.
Accusing the EFCC of lending itself to be instrument for political oppression and intimidation against perceived opponents of the All Progressives Congress, APC-led federal government, he vowed to, in due course, challenge the anti-graft agency in court and ensure the reversal of the freeze order.
Ozekhome, who was speaking to journalists in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital, said: “I can’t be ruffled for this action, because I have not done illegal, illegitimate or illicit or something out of ordinary”.
He continued, “Governor Fayose paid me my professional fee, which was a sum of N75m out of the humongous amount owed me over cases I am holding for him, his aides and friends.
“I am currently prosecuting eight cases on his behalf. The one involving Abiodun Agbede and Zenith bank, Femi Fani-Kayode’s wife and others. As a professional, I had given my professional fees but the governor could not pay because his accounts had been frozen by EFCC, which makes the governor financially strangulated.
“But last year December, Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court unfrozen and unblocked the account. He then transferred the money into my Chambers’ account.
“In recent time, I had defeated EFCC in five different cases and so it has developed a complex for me and they thought they can embarrass me. When has payment of legal fee become or translated to a commission of a crime?
“The transfer of money was not done by force, or done under false pretence or through the barrel of gun. The money is legitimate and legal. EFCC is bringing itself to the level of becoming the enemy of the people.”
The senior advocate said he has been an unrelenting critic of the Buhari government, explaining that he did this out of the passion for the liberation of the downtrodden Nigerians.
He however pointed out that he had always proffered solutions in every criticism, asserting that he had always been speaking for the rejected, dejected, depressed, oppressed, repressed and hapless persons in the society.
“So, this allegation of money laundering by EFCC is insidious, odious and invidious and it came from the pit of hell,” the constitutional lawyer averred.
