The High Court of Justice, Bauchi State, has issued a contempt (Form 48) against the Chairman and the Head of Economic Governance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an ongoing case between the Commission and four other applicants.

A copy of the contempt issued to the Chairman and the Head of Economic Governance (EG1), Mr. Dare Folarin, on March 12, 2025, and obtained by our correspondent, stated that Form 48 is ?hereby given to the contemnor that except you obey the direction obtained in the order annexed hereto, you will be guilty of contempt of court and you will be liable to be committed to prison.?

Also, Barr. Ahmed Sani, counsel to the applicants, explained that the court order was issued to restrain the EFCC from taking any action against his client, one Aliyu Adamu, and three others, pending the determination of the suit filed by his clients.

?The said order was issued by the High Court of Justice of Bauchi State, and the same has since been served on the EFCC. However, to our greatest dismay, despite being served with the order and the Originating Motion, one Mr Dare Folarin, who is the head of the section investigating the case before the issuance of the court order, flagrantly disobeyed the court?s directive by continuing to harass, intimidate, and eventually arrest our client.

?In a shocking display of defiance, the EFCC team, led by the said Mr Dare Folarin, stormed our client?s office, seized documents, and arrested him in clear contempt of the court order. This egregious abuse of power and disregard for the law by the EFCC, particularly Mr. Folarin, undermines the very fabric of our justice system and demands immediate attention.?

According to Sani, Folarin refused to accept service of Form 48 (Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Court Order) from the court bailiff, claiming that ?the court cannot impede his work.? The bailiff successfully served him by throwing the court process at him.

He also alleged that efforts to serve the EFCC Chairman with Form 48 by the same bailiff of the court proved abortive, as Folarin flagrantly threw caution to the wind, chased the bailiff out of his office and EFCC premises, and threatened to lock him up.

?The bailiff has subsequently sworn an affidavit of service confirming the service. So, we are ensuring the general public that if the EFCC and Mr. Dare Folarin persist in disobeying the court order, we will proceed to serve them with Form 49, followed by the commencement of contempt proceedings against them.

?We trust that the EFCC, and particularly Mr. Dare Folarin, will take necessary steps to rectify their actions and avoid further contempt of the court of law, thereby preventing any potential unpleasant consequences,? he said. (The Guardian)

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