Former creek warrior, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, better known as Tompolo has approached the Federal High Court in Lagos seeking an order restraining the Federal Government and its agencies from further proceeding with the N45.9bn fraud charges filed against him.
Tompolo, through his lawyer, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, is contending that sections 221 and 306 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA 2015, which prohibits him from seeking a stay of proceedings in his trial, are infringing on his constitutional rights to fair hearing.
The defendants in the suit are the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, the Chief of Naval Staff, CNS and the Chief of Air Staff, CAS.
He is praying the court to nullify sections 221 and 306 of the ACJA and restrain the Federal Government, the EFCC and the IGP from deploying those sections of the law against him.
Adegboruwa argued that sections 221 and 306 are in conflict with Section 36 of the Constitution which guarantees the right to fair hearing of his client.
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