N75 Million I received from Fayose is legal fess, says Mike Ozekhome

Mike Ozekhome, SAN, has told a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos that the N75 million he received from the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, was legal fees.
Ozekhome made the claim in a suit filed before the court seeking to unfreeze his account, that was frozen by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, based on a court order.
The Federal High Court on Thursday fixed March 2 for the hearing of the lawyer’s suit.
Justice Abdulazeez Anka ordered that a hearing notice be issued on the EFCC.
Recall that the court had on February 7 ordered a temporary forfeiture of N75 million found in the applicant’s Guaranty Trust Bank account following an application by the anti-graft agency.
However, the EFCC was not present in court when the case was called on Thursday.
Ozekhome told the court that his suit was filed on February 14 and that EFCC was served on February 20 according to a proof of service.
However, Justice Anka noted that the commission was still within time to respond.
He further explained that the commission was entitled to seven days which, he said, had not lapsed, adding that the commission should be allowed their clear seven days.
Ozekhome demanded for the earliest possible date for hearing of his application, insisting that the suit was urgent.
He is seeking the immediate vacation of the interim forfeiture order, while arguing that the EFCC’s application for the interim order was done in bad faith.
He said the EFCC did not comply with the statutory and judicial authorities in obtaining an interim order through a motion ex-parte.
He argued that the respondent suppressed material facts in obtaining the order and as such, “the action is unconstitutional as same offends constitutional provisions.”
He said also that the anti-graft agency failed to inform the court that Justice Taiwo O. Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti, had unfrozen Fayose’s accounts forthwith.
Recall that Fayose’s account was initially frozen by the EFCC for his alleged role in the misappropriation of billions of Naira from the office of the NSA.
Ozekhome further maintained that the unfreezing order allowed the governor to operate his account before transferring the sum of N75 million to his chambers’ account.
According to him, the EFCC’s application and the subsequent order were based on non-compliance with court rules and judicial authorities regulating the granting of ex-parte application.
“The entire gamut of the application leading to the granting of the interim order ex-parte amounts to forum shopping and a calculated attempt to over-reach me,” he argued.
He insisted that whether the said sum formed proceeds of a crime, was currently on appeal.
Justice Anka adjourned the suit to March 2 for further hearing.