Lawyer to immediate past governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), has said that if the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) failed to release the former governor on Thursday (today), the commission would be sued for breaching Fayose’s fundamental human rights.
Ozekhome said the EFCC began investigating Fayose over two years ago and that he wondered why the agency would decide to hold him for over 24 hours.
He said the commission could not force Fayose to write any statement as he reserved the right to remain silent.
The senior advocate said any move to obtain a remand order would amount to illegality because the Supreme Court had made that clear.
The lawyer said since Fayose’s accounts had been frozen and his properties seized by the commission, there was nothing for the ex-governor to tell the EFCC as the matter was already in court.
Ozekhome added, “His lawyers will consider approaching the court for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights if he is not released on Thursday. Section 35 and 36 of the constitution are clear on this.
“He is not a flight risk. He willingly submitted himself to the EFCC even earlier than the time he was supposed to come. What the EFCC is doing is nothing but media trial.
“From the way they have been chasing Fayose in the last three years, one would have expected that the EFCC would have completed its investigations and would arrest him immediately his tenure expires and charge him the next day but that is not the case.
“They want him to write a statement by force and then use the statement against him instead of using their own evidence.”
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