Take me to Supreme Court, Ngilari tells EFCC

A former Adamawa State Governor, Bala Ngillari, has said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is free to approach the Supreme Court over his acquittal.

Speaking to SUNDAY PUNCH on Friday, Ngilari said his acquittal by the Court of Appeal was an act of God and that the only thing he needed to do was to take care of his health.

He said, “In any case, there’s bound to be a winner and a loser. In terms of professionalism, both my lawyers and the prosecution lawyers exhibited a high level of professionalism in their works. But this is how God has ordained it.

“So, it is their (EFCC) right to approach the Supreme Court. If I were in their shoes, I would probably do the same. But I want to first take care of my health, so that I can be alive, because an appeal can only be done against someone who is alive. I have no bitterness against the EFCC or anybody.”

The anti-graft agency had secured a five-year jail term for the former governor at the Adamawa State High Court for his alleged breach of the state procurement laws, involving the purchase of 24 operational vehicles for use by the state government valued at over N160m.

The court’s ruling was, however, quashed by the Court of Appeal sitting in Yola.

Punch, August 6, 2017

 

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