A Federal High Court in Abuja has cleared a former Kwara State Governor, Senator Bukola Saraki of any wrongdoing in a bank loan being investigated by the Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU) since 2012.
The clearance given to the former governor in court was based on a legal opinion by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice that the allegations of wrongdoing against him were baseless and unfounded.
The legal opinion of the justice minister was a response to a report submitted to him by the Inspector General of Police (IG) on police findings in a complain of Joy Petroleum Limited.
Delivering judgment in a case filed by Saraki against the police for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights, Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed stopped the IG from inviting or arresting the former governor over the alleged bank loan.
Justice Mohammed also barred the agents of the IG especially the operatives in the SFU from harassing, intimidating and breaching the fundamental rights of the former governor and his aides.
The court held that any attempt to commence any further interrogation of Saraki over an issue already declared closed by the Minister of Justice would amount to a breach of his fundamental rights.
Justice Mohammed said that it would be unfair for Saraki to be subjected to further interrogation by police having been cleared of any wrongdoing by the AGF in the report police submitted to the minister for legal advice.
The judge said the court had no choice than to give effect to the legal opinion of the Minister of Justice that the complaints against Saraki were baseless, unfounded and not supported with any shred of documentary evidence since he has no link with Joy Petroleum Limited, the complainant.
The court also held that the police ought to have stopped any further harassment of the senator since the AGF had officially written to the IG.
Justice Mohammed refused to rely on the depositions of police that they were acting on further evidence, adding that the failure by police to attach even a single document to support the bogus claim was fatal to their depositions.
The judge held: “In law, the court cannot rely on any averment that is not supported with even a faint documentary evidence.
“The failure of police to produce in court the provisional findings submitted to the Minister of Justice and the letter of the minister to the police indicate that the case was not favourable to the police.”
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