Society Gists

A web of lies and deceit being churned out by top officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have been exposed at the Federal High Court in a case instituted by Pinnacle Communications against the ICPC.

The ICPC had in a press release deliberately and mischievously made allusions that Pinnacle Communications in concert with some fictitious officials of the NBC fraudulently got payment for the digital switch contract, the report has however been found to be fraught with misleading and misrepresentation of facts.

It was revealed that two top officials of the ICPC; Mr Shogunle, Head of Legal Service and Mr Hakeem Lawal, Head of Operations are the duo running the anti-corruption agency at their whims and caused the damaging and questionable press release signed by the commission’s spokesperson, Mrs. Rasheedat A. Okoduwa, to be published.

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja therefore warned the ICPC against misrepresenting proceedings of the court saying it took strong exceptions to a statement said to be a press release from the spokesperson of the Commission in respect of the issue before the court.

The judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba was responding to complaints by counsel to Pinnacle Communications Limited about a press release issued by ICPC which contained inaccurate references to proceedings in the case instituted by Pinnacle Communications Limited against the Commission following the freezing of its account over an investigation into payment of N2.5 Billion by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

The judge asked the ICPC counsel, who denied knowledge of the publication of the press release, to convey his dissatisfaction to the Chairman of the ICPC. The ICPC counsel had stated that he had been away and was just being aware of the position in court.

The counsel to Pinnacle Communications, N. Ekanem (SAN) had drawn attention of the court to the ICPC press release saying it was in contempt of the court but adding that his client would take further action on the libellous aspects of the release.

The Senior Advocate also maintained that the Chairman of Pinnacle voluntarily presented himself before ICPC as a law abiding citizen of Nigeria.

Meanwhile the matter was adjourned to December 14 for ruling on the interlocutory application by Pinnacle Communications Limited seeking to unfreeze it’s account