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For allegedly defrauding the federal
government to the tune of over N1.3 billion naira and $2 million, the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday, told a
Federal High Court in Abuja that Sani Lulu and three others committed
an offence under the Nigerian law and not under the FIFA law, and as
such, should be tried.

The EFCC stated this in a counter
motion challenging an application brought before the court by Lulu and
three others, Amanze Uchegbulam, Bolaji Ojo-Oba, and Taiwo Ogunjobi,
all former officials of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, seeking
to quash charges of alleged corruption preferred against them by the
commission.

At the resumed hearing of the matter on
Thursday, the accused persons through their counsel, Sunday Ameh and
Akin Olujinmi, challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain
the charges, saying that it is only FIFA that has jurisdiction to
prosecute them.

They accordingly prayed the court to
quash the charges on the ground that the regulating body of NFF is FIFA
and that the federal government has no right to legislate over football
related matters under the constitution.

Specifically, the defence said the
charges levelled against the men bothered on the breach of Criminal
Act, EFCC Act, and Public Procurement Act. Noting that since NFF is not
being regulated by such Acts, it could not be binding on the accused
persons and as such the accused could not have breached the provisions
of such law.

But counsel to the EFCC, Titus Ashaolu,
opposed the application with a 22- paragraph counter-affidavit praying
the court to discountenance the applications of all the defence
counsels on a lack of merit. Sressing that in as much FIFA law is not
domesticated in Nigeria, the accused will have to be prosecuted under
the law of the land.

“Coming to this court and saying they cannot be tried by Nigerian laws, except FIFA, is an aberration,” he said.

Mr. Ashaolu further argued that the
approval for funds by the NFF officials were in itself an offence, “as
there is a limit to which they can appropriate funds, as clearly
indicated in the Procurement Act for contract approval.”

Defrauding the government

He submitted that the applications by
the accused persons are meant to delay trial, and urged the court to
discountenance the applications in their entirety and allow the trial
to commence.

The prosecution counsel also faulted
the argument canvassed by the accused persons to the effect that the
EFCC did not seek and get the prosecutorial consent of the Attorney
General of the Federation before commencing trial.

He said the EFCC did not need a fresh
consent of the AGF to prosecute the case, as the EFCC has all the
powers and right conferred on it by the Establishment Act to prosecute
all economic and financial crimes.

Messrs Lulu, Uchegbulam, Ojo-Oba, and
Ogunjobi were arrested by EFCC on June 7, 2010 but granted
administrative bail. They were, however, re-arrested by the
Commission’s operatives on Monday September 6, 2010 and arraigned on
September 7, 2010.

The former NFF officials are standing
trial before Donatus Okorowa on a seven-count charge bordering on
corruptly using their offices to confer unfair advantage on themselves,
defrauding the federal government to the tune of over N1.3 billion
naira and $2 million, and also unlawfully issuing 1,263 tickets as
complementary offers to friends, associates, political support groups,
and family relations.

The accused persons were also alleged
to have booked the Hampshire Hotel, South Africa, being a cheap,
substandard, unbefitting and an unlisted hotel among the approved list
of hotels by the Federation of International Football Association,
FIFA, for lodging by participating teams and caused the Federal
Government to pay a fine to the tune of $125,000 for a breach of
contract.

Mr. Okorowa, having listened to arguments canvassed by counsels, adjourned the case to February 16, 2011, for ruling.

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