Chairman, Bi-Courtney Highway Services, Wale Babalakin, has filed a fresh suit at a Federal High Court, Lagos, seeking to stop the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from arresting him for allegedly laundering about N4.7bn on behalf of the convicted governor of Delta State, James Ibori, in 2006.
Babalakin, had through his counsel, Wale Akoni (SAN), filed the fresh suit before the Federal High Court after he lost the one through which he sought the court to stop his arraignment by the EFCC.
The fresh suit filed before Justice Ibrahim Buba, under the Fundamental Human Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules, has been scheduled for hearing on Friday.
Buba had, on Wednesday, ordered that the suit brought as an exparte motion be converted to motion on notice and same be served on the EFCC.
Babalakin, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had since November 28, remained on admittance at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital over an undisclosed ailment, making his arraignment on 27 counts preferred against him by the EFCC impossible.
Operatives of the EFCC had been occupying the hospital premises on the excuse that they wanted to prevent Babalakin from fleeing.
But his lawyers, including, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN) had cited Babalakin's deteriorating health as the grounds for his continued admittance at the hospital, complaining that the presence of the EFCC operatives was constituting a threat to their client's health.
His arraignment at a Lagos High Court in Ikeja, where he had been charged along with others, had therefore failed on two occasions due to his absence from the court presided over by Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo.
Onigbanjo had therefore adjourned till January 17, 2013, for hearing of Babalakin's pending applications and "possible arraignment".
Babalakin had in his former suit, cited incompetence of the charge preferred against him by the anti-corruption agency at the Lagos High Court as the basis for seeking a prohibition order against the EFCC.
But the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, who heard the matter at the Federal High Court, struck it out on December 13, for not complying with relevant court rules.
