Executive Vice Chairman of Aiteo, Benedict Peters has defeated the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as a High Court sitting in Abuja has annulled his declaration as ‘wanted’ by the EFCC.

Benedict Peters

In a March 22, 2018 judgement, the court said the anti-graft agency had no power to declare Peters or anyone ‘wanted’ without a court order.

This was in response to a suit by Peters, accusing the EFCC of declaring him wanted on its website without following due process.

As affirmed by the court, “Peters has never been charged with, nor tried for any criminal offence in any Court, nor has he ever jumped bail for any offence howsoever in Nigeria and so cannot be declared wanted by administrative fiat, without any prior order or leave of Court.”

The judgment by Justice Othman Musa said: “The very act of declaring the Applicant (Benedict Peters) wanted on the official website of the first Respondent (EFCC) without any prior order or leave of a Court of competent jurisdiction to that effect is unlawful, illegal, wrongful, ultra vires, unconstitutional and constitutes a flagrant violation of the Fundamental rights of the applicant to personal liberty, private and family life, freedom of movement and right to not be subjected to inhuman treatment and degrading treatment as guaranteed under Section 34, 37, 41 and 46 of the 1999 Constitution (As amended) and Articles 2, 3(1) and (2), 4, 5, 6, 7, and 12(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 2004.”

On August 15 2016, Peters was declared wanted by EFCC without an order of Court and in the absence of a valid charge in a Court of law. The said declaration was published in some newspapers, online medium, and EFCC’s official website.