The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has denied claims that one of its lawyers visited a Federal High Court Judge at her home in Ibadan to influence a court judgement.
In a statement released on Sunday October 13, the anti-graft agency stated that their counsel Sanusi Galadanchi visited Joyce Abdulmalik out of love not knowing it was her residence.
Reacting to the Nigerian Bar Association’s claim of the incident being a move by “one of the agents of the state to destroy the judiciary”, EFCC’s spokesperson Wilson Uwajuren said Sanusi visited the Judge’s residence to see his fiancee’s uncle not knowing it was Joyce Abdulmalik’s husband.
It was further learnt that Joyce Abdulmalik had once scolded Sanusi during one of the court’s sittings.
Read the full statement below;
“According to the counsel, he had accompanied his fiancé, a P.hD candidate from the Ahmadu Bello University to meet with her uncle who unknown to him is the husband of Justice AbdulMalik. According to him, himself and his partner had already arrived the premises of his Lordship when he sighted a vehicle with a Federal High Court registration number, and he immediately indicated a desire to leave.
“Unfortunately, their host, Justice AbdulMalik’s husband who had been expecting them was already at the doorway and prevailed on him to stay. He recalls that when his Lordship came into the living room and saw him, she expressed her displeasure and left for another living room.
“He noted that after the meeting, his fiancé’s uncle led them to meet Justice AbulMalik where she sat and Galadanchi apologised to her for his innocent presence in her home and she accepted the apology. It was therefore shocking that his Lordship waited until three months after to raise the visit in an open court.
“What is clear from the facts as established, is that Galadanchi didn’t go to the home of Justice AbdulMalik to solicit for conviction of any defendant, neither was he there to discuss cases he is prosecuting. He was led there by love, which exist between him and Justice AbdulMalik’s sister-in-law.”
