I, Festus Keyamo, issue this Press Statement as the Lead Prosecutor in this case and on my behalf. The Commission may also issue its statement later.

The FCT High Court, sitting at Apo presided over by Justice S. B. Belgore today, Tuesday January 31, 2012, upheld the no-case submission made by the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole and his Deputy, Nafada and discharged the two Accused persons.
This charge is only in relation to the allegations of obtaining illegal loans and the indiscriminate increase of the “allowances” and “running costs” from N27million to N42million per member, per quarter, under the leadership of the accused persons. The charge in relation to the contravention of the Public Procurement Act, to wit: inflation of prices of goods purchased for members of the House of Representatives is still pending before the Federal High Court, Abuja.

However, we disagree with the reasoning and conclusion of His Lordship Justice S.B. Belgore in the decision reached today on the following grounds:

1. The Court held that though it is morally wrong, morally indefensible and morally insensitive for the members of the House of Representatives led by Bankole and Nafada to have increased their “running costs” from N27million per quarter, per member, to N42million, it did not amount to a criminal offence but a moral wrong. The court reasoned that the legislature, being a different arm of government, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) cannot fix the “running costs” for members of the House of Representatives. They are at liberty to increase their “running costs” to whatever amount they so collectively wish.

Again the judge held that RMAFC can only fix “wages” and “allowances” and not “running costs” and that “running costs” do not qualify as “allowances”.

OUR DISAGREEMENT ON THIS POINT

Section 70 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) states as follows:

“70. Remuneration

A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall receive such salary and other allowances as the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission may determine.”

Consequently, in our opinion, it is wrong for a judge to allow a public officer to take money from the public till under any guise without reference to the RMAFC. Our respectful view is that “other allowances” as stated in the Constitution encompasses “running costs” as monies collected by public officers to offset expenses other than wages. The difference the judge tried to create is merely splitting of hairs.

2. The court held that Bankole and Nafada could not be held for criminal breach of trust because constitutionally, their powers do not include control of the Accounts of the House of Representatives, therefore they are not “entrusted” with those accounts. While the court agreed that Bankole was actually the approving authority regarding expenditure, in conjunction with the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Court said this was only an illegal usurpation of the powers of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

OUR DISAGREEMENT ON THIS POINT

Since the Court had arrived at a conclusion that Bankole usurped the powers of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, should he not be held accountable for misusing that power he usurped? We think he should.

3. The court held that the accused persons cannot be held guilty for theft because the funds in the accounts said to be the subject of theft were legitimately obtained as loans and disbursed to members.

OUR DISAGREEMENT ON THIS POINT

In our view, theft is committed when a property belonging to another is taken fraudulently without the consent of the other person. In this case, so long as monies were credited to the account of the House of Representatives which is an account of the Federal Government, they still needed to follow strict financial regulations in disbursing those amounts. To the extent that those financial regulations were not followed the “taking” is fraudulent and amounts to theft, in our view.

4. Lastly, the judge kept repeating that the loans have been fully paid back and so no crime has been committed.

OUR DISAGREEMENT ON THIS POINT

Apart from the fact that paying back of the loan does not repair the breach of the financial regulations by the accused persons, this is what PW 9 (Sefiya Musa, the Relations Manager of First Bank) said:
“PW9:- I have looked at A41. The bottom reading =N= 12 billion. That is the loan I am talking about. The loan has not been fully liquidated.”
Therefore, we do not know how the judge arrived at the conclusion that the loans have been fully paid back when the loan obtained from First Bank Plc remain unpaid as manifestly shown in the evidence of PW 9 above (as against that of UBA).

For these and other reasons, we are totally dissatisfied with the judgment and we are consulting with our client, EFCC on the possibility of an appeal.

Thank you.

FESTUS KEYAMO, ESQ.
Lead Prosecutor


http://dailypost.com.ng/2012/01/31/full-text-keyamos-response-to-bankole-nafada-acquittal/?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=full-text-keyamos-response-to-bankole-nafada-acquittal

plz Keyamo kindly appeal

keyamo, go ahead with appeal.
this matter must be drawn to a logical conclusion it deserves.

Aint u a fool!

Rather than comment on  a very serious matter that has been raised
u think it's an opportunity to sell your 419 business.

I have said it several times and will say it again,the judiciary is the problem with Nigeria, God go punish all dis useless and corrupt judges for Naija dis 2012, rubbish

supported!

I knew from the begining that this case was just to humble Bankole and never to indict him. What a wasted effort by Keyamo, when the Cabals are behind, who can be against you. Nice one Keyamo

Keyamo self don share out of d money,wish appeal ar u talking about dat is d end of d case

another example of an average lawyer thinking he's bigger than he actually is. only in a country like ours where all professional standards have fallen by the way side will you see a lawyer debunking a judgement line by line in the press. losing a case is not a personal matter - in law you win some, you lose some. how does it enhance respect for the bar to play to public gallery in this way? in times past in nigeria, and in serious countries, however disappointed you are with the outcome of a case as a lawyer, you don't try and re-run the case in the press. you simply say you're disappointed with the outcome and will be conferring with your client to chart a way forward, which usually means you'll advise them to appeal or not. when lawyers don't respect a fundamental time-honoured unwritten code, one has to wonder. can anyone imagine rotimi williams behaving like this? not that i wish to compare the abject keyamo to the magnificent williams.

I agree with Edo girl. I have worked with him before and i know he is a very good lawyer, but i'm against his issuing a press statement against a court judgment. While reading i was wondering if that wasn't contemptous. The case of NBA V. Gani Fawehinmi etc comes to mind. And then again, being Gani's boy, the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree afterall.

Haba edo girl. What this guy has done is one of the beauties of the law profession. He did not say he did not or will not submit to the judgement, he only shared his perspectives on the facts that are available. He has not done anything wrong. This could have happened anywhere in the world. Why do you think judges spend hours to read judgements instead of just cutting the chase down to guilty or not guilty? They are doing the same thing that Keyamo just did - sharing their perspectives. This will allow people to understand where they are coming from anfd how they arrived at their verdict and/or judgement.

@edo.girl , you really must be suffering from environmental delusion . Why must you display your ignorance in public . Here, we are talking about miscarriage judgment and you are there casting aspersion on the person of Festus Kayemo, an erudite scholar of note . Need I remind you that Bankole is a public figure , thus his case and its outcome ought and should be a subject of public discourse , this is the basis of Kayemo's stance and pronouncement to the press and the general populace . Enough !

Edo. girl. God Bless u for having said my mind. This has nothing to do with the Press, if the guy thinks there is an error of law, he should Appeal. Full Stop

cherechy and edo girl position suggest they are members of the profession that touts themselves as learned.

I do not begrudge the various ethos that all profession in the world over hold in high esteem but issues of public interest cannot for any reason become a personal/secret matter. See Yaradua deteriorating health vs Nigerians. Medically, no patients health should be made available. Similar exception can be found in the banking sector.

Bottomline, as much as i may not be a fan of keyamo, i failed to identify where he goofed on this.

Benin girl and Chicharito may wish to enlighten us all

Stop waisting your time,kiyamo nd bankole dine on d same table at most once in two weeks

Edo girl
Much as I agree with you that in an ideal world, court judgements are sacrosanct and should never be questioned, but we live in the real world and in Nigeria for that matter. In in world court trials, the defendants and even lawyers come out to openly criticize judgments. But the nigerian case is even more pathetic, where judges are so corrupt and political that they are openly accused of selling judgments by other senior lawyers and judges. So a judgement that defies all sense of reasonings like this one deserves emotional outburst by keyamo. Besides it was the defense lawyers that is misinforming the general public that Bankole has been acquited of all charges and so innocent, while that is far from the truth.

To be sincere , Bankole is too much for some body like Festus Keyamo to handle, so he should forget about appealing or no appealing. The truth, Bankole will still be set free why? because he is one of the untouchables in Nigeria.

FCT Judges; mtscheeeeeeew. Abeg comot make i see road

4. Lastly, the judge kept repeating that the loans have been fully paid back and so no crime has been committed.

This has got to be the worst comic fever I have read of a judge. How can he say the loan has been repaid and therefore no crime has been committed? Is he smoking something dangerous? If the loan was indeed paid down, would it not be Nigerian tax payers money that was used to pay off the loans used in financing the self increased allownaces of Bankole and his legislative members, while ordinary Nigerians survive on less than $2 per day.

This is not acceptable and in the end they have to finance this lifestyle by hiking fuel prices. The common man continues to bear the brunt.

This judge was bought off. Simple and it is time there is a way to start jailing those judges. It happened with Igbenedion and it will continue to happen if something drastic is not done

another example of an average lawyer thinking he's bigger than he actually is. only in a country like ours where all professional standards have fallen by the way side will you see a lawyer debunking a judgement line by line in the press. losing a case is not a personal matter - in law you win some, you lose some. how does it enhance respect for the bar to play to public gallery in this way? in times past in nigeria, and in serious countries, however disappointed you are with the outcome of a case as a lawyer, you don't try and re-run the case in the press. you simply say you're disappointed with the outcome and will be conferring with your client to chart a way forward, which usually means you'll advise them to appeal or not. when lawyers don't respect a fundamental time-honoured unwritten code, one has to wonder. can anyone imagine rotimi williams behaving like this? not that i wish to compare the abject keyamo to the magnificent williams. 

@edo girl,
if u are sensitive as u think, one will expect u to ask urself how come one court says yes and another say no.
what we have in nigeria is supposed to be democracy and kayamo as a nigerian is entitle to his opinion.
the case against bankole was a breach of financial laws in the house and if a judge is saying that the loan has been re-paid, we are not yet there. we must first of all confirm if the loan was obtained legally or illegally.
that is why u can't see peace in nigeria because the judiciary has been compromised. how can we get justice in a country where judges are appointed and discharged at will. every one in power is doing his or her best to abuse his/her position.
it is a very big shame that those who claim to be informed like u are the real ignorant ones.
for me, i was never expecting anything more or less than what the paid labourers have done.
when pressmen were interviewing bankole's father, he was laughing and telling them that his son will be freed. i remember listening to pastor tunde bakare when he said, nothing will happen to bankole because if anything happens to him, he (bankole) will sing.
when obasanjo used his efcc to attack atiku, he simply told us that he is guilty but was not alone in the crime and that was the end of the matter.
have u not asked urself for ones, WHY ARE PPL LIKE ORJI UZOR KALU AND TINUBU not victims of all these staged managed jails?
as long as nigerians are aware that something is wrong, i am of great belief that every problem has an expiry date and one day, the justice we so much deserve will locate us even with minimal efforts.

This is a miscarriage of justice. Why would he not publicise it when d judge is being unfair. She wants to receive honour from bankole after she must have freed him.
There is a very important point Koye, Made: he said d judge only said, bankole only usurped d cleric. Why wasn't he charged on that basis.
Foolish judges. I keep repeating this, this immunity granted to judges is getting into there head as they judge wat ever they wish.
If u could remember a man that just stole N20 onion was taken to prison but a man dat is usurping in millions is been set free.
GEJ please do something.
I have a very important pledge unrelated to dis topic: why are those thousand of boko harams not shot after interogation but kept in priso. Thats y d boko's are persistent. If we start killing them now dey wil surrender.

edo.girl:

another example of an average lawyer thinking he's bigger than he actually is. only in a country like ours where all professional standards have fallen by the way side will you see a lawyer debunking a judgement line by line in the press. losing a case is not a personal matter - in law you win some, you lose some. how does it enhance respect for the bar to play to public gallery in this way? in times past in nigeria, and in serious countries, however disappointed you are with the outcome of a case as a lawyer, you don't try and re-run the case in the press. you simply say you're disappointed with the outcome and will be conferring with your client to chart a way forward, which usually means you'll advise them to appeal or not. when lawyers don't respect a fundamental time-honoured unwritten code, one has to wonder. can anyone imagine rotimi williams behaving like this? not that i wish to compare the abject keyamo to the magnificent williams.

I agree with these. When I read John Grisham, he talks about strategy all the time
How can a judge look kindly at a lawyer (when he has to resolve a doubt on matters of evidence, timing of hearing etc) when the lawyer is in the habit of making public ridicule of judges
You can disagree and be graceful about it!
The world is not perfect. Better to hurry to a higher court and get the ignorance/bias/incompetence of the judge exposed
And the higher courts do use very very harsh words when necessary

lairs lawyers indeed.

those charge and bail lawyers chicharito and co or whatever they call themselves think that all Nigerians have the stomach for corruption and gross ineptitude, perhaps beaf is your role model but keyamo doesn't give a sh1t.

do you know how many lives that are wasting on daily basis as a result of this insane judgment from a mentally marooned judge on a daily basis?

Feyamo should save a criminal some repute and go and Appeal then what? the criminal judge goes home while the justice system decays?

are you guys OK? are you a product of a corrupt system that you didn't feel a scintilla of disgust typing such ignoble opinion of yours?

the damn criminal judge needs to be exposed not just by issuing a press statement but ostracized, isolated and made a pariah just like any other common criminal cos i don't see the difference.

what if it was a murder case and the victim cannot afford an appeal? then what? the judge collects money and walks just like that.

let me remind you that injustice is the Genesis of all the social ills in our present day society.

the injustice meted to the Ogonis gave birth to MEND

the injustice meted to BH is the reason we sleep with all eyes open and you want a criminal judge to get a national honor after delivering a kangaroo judgment like this?

how long did it take for BH to regroup and destroy the freedom of millions of Nigerians by one singular act of injustice tell me?

how long do you think it will take before a faceless group decides to take on judges and the whole legal framework?

how long will it take the NPF to recover from BH reprisals?

how long will it take before one act of injustice continues to keep millions in endless curfew around the states? think, think, think think,

ethics and decorum are mere cosmetics and luxury that the justice system cannot afford in a glaring case of justice torpedo.

did you read the kangaroo judgment that upheld yaradua's presidency? even yaradua himself was ashamed of the judge.

he should thank his stars he didn't deliver that judgment in a city like sao paulo trust me the least he can Get for this is a wheel chair.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, our arms of government is the crux of our problem in naija. The executive, legislative, judiciary and the newest member, Labour (NLC). These 4 are Nigeria's greatest problem.

BetaThings:

I agree with these. When I read John Grisham, he talks about strategy all the time
How can a judge look kindly at a lawyer (when he has to resolve a doubt on matters of evidence, timing of hearing etc) when the lawyer is in the habit of making public ridicule of judges
You can disagree and be graceful about it!
The world is not perfect. Better to hurry to a higher court and get the ignorance/bias/incompetence of the judge exposed
And the higher courts do use very very harsh words when necessary

leave those who just comment wtout logic, becos bankole allegedly stole billions, some would even prefer he is hanged wtout trial, go check a law dictionary 4 d meaning of justice.

[b]1. The Court held that though it is morally wrong, morally indefensible and morally insensitive for the members of the House of Representatives led by Bankole and Nafada to have increased their “running costs” from N27million per quarter, per member, to N42million, it did not amount to a criminal offence but a moral wrong. The court reasoned that the legislature, being a different arm of government, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) cannot fix the “running costs” for members of the House of Representatives. They are at liberty to increase their “running costs” to whatever amount they so collectively wish.

ON WHAT GROUND WAS THE CASE FILED,CRIMINAL OR CIVIL CASE, THE JUDGE GAVE HIS JUDGEMENT BASED ON CRIMINAL CHARGE FILED BY KEYAMO,SO WHY THE NOICE,YOU CANT EAT YOUR CAKE AND HAVE IT BACK,KEYAMO KNEW THAT FILLING THE CASE AS CIVIL CASE WILL BE APPROPRIATE,BUT CHOOSE THE CRIMINAL OPTION WHICH ALSO INVOLVE EMBARASSING OR IMMIDIATE ARRESTS OF BANKOLE AND CO TO BOOST HIS EGO,GOOD KEYAMO MAKES HIMSELF PORPULAR BY ''RECEIVING HIS GLORY EARLY'' AS AN ACTION LAWYER,BUT HIS POINT MISSED THE TARGET,HIS POINT WOULD HAVE BEST SUIT BANKOLE IF IT WERE CIVIL CASE, CAN SOMEONE TELLS KEYAMO TO STOP CONFUSING PEOPLE HERE PLS.

PAR 1,JUDGEMENT BASED ON THE GROUNDS SEEK BY THE COUNSEL, KEYAMO.

2,2. The court held that Bankole and Nafada could not be held for criminal breach of trust because constitutionally, their powers do not include control of the Accounts of the House of Representatives, therefore they are not “entrusted” with those accounts. While the court agreed that Bankole was actually the approving authority regarding expenditure, in conjunction with the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Court said this was only an illegal usurpation of the powers of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

THE USURPATION OF POWERS HERE WERE LIMITED TO THE CLERK, AND THAT THE APROVING AUTHORITY ENJOYED BY BANKOLE DOES NOT TRANSLATE TO MISUSING THAT POWER HE USURPED,SINCE ITS STATED CLEARLY THAT( ]their powers do not include control of the Accounts of the House of Representatives, therefore they are not “entrusted” with those accounts.).

3,KEYAMO IS STATING ''STRICT FINANCIAL REGULATION NOT INCLUDED IN THE CONSTITUTION AS A STANDARD''
SO BANKOLE AND CO ARE NOT BOUND BY SUCH STANDARD AS IT IS NOT INCLUDED.

4,IF HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF THE LOAN IS BEEN PAID,REMAININ FEW,THEN APPROXIMATELY THW LOAN CAN BE BETTER REFFERED TO AS PAID.

KEYAMO,KEYAMO.BE WARNED.
[/b]

Keyamo is a great lawyer, he is only express himself, so haters free d guy,

Different strokes for different folks, time will tell.

Festus, pls keep up d gud work,

;d ;d ;d

The judiciary is also very corrupt. Infact, they are amongst the most corrupt