Embattled Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Chief Rickey Tarfa Friday admitted that he gave N225, 000 to a sitting judge of the Federal High Court, Justice M. N. Yunusa, on January 7, 2014.
He said the N225, 000 was not a bribe, but a donation from him and some of his friends towards the burial of Justice Yunusa’s father-in-law who died on December 28, 2013.
In an affidavit filed on his behalf at the Federal High Court Lagos, before Justice Mohammed Idris by one John Olusegun Odubela, Head of Chambers of Messrs Rickey Tarfa and Co., dated February 18, the learned silk denied bribing the judge with the money or ‘any other sum at all.’
Tarfa appeared Friday before Justice Idris in continuation of his N2.5 billion fundamental rights suit against the Economic and Finanacial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for wrongful arrest and detention.
He was represented by Bolaji Ayorinde SAN, Anthony Idigbe, SAN, who led four other learned silks and 115 other counsels.
The EFCC was represented by Mr. Wahab Shittu and five others.
Tarfa was arrested by operatives of the commission on February 5, within the premises of the Lagos State High Court in Igbosere after a five-hour standoff during which the EFCC claimed that the learned silk prevented its operatives from arresting two of Tarfa’s clients.
The commission alleged that Tarfa hid the foreigners in his car for five about 11:30 am still some minutes past 5pm.
In response to the senior lawyer’s suit, EFCC filed preliminary objection on the ground that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
In a counter-affidavit filed on February 19 by one of the commission’s operatives that arrested Tarfa and who is also a respondent in the suit, Moses Awolusi, it was stated that a check carried out on the Access Bank account of Tarfa’s law firm revealed that a sum of N225, 000 was sent to Justice Mohammed Yunusa on January 7, 2014.
The EFCC claimed on Thursday that the amount was a bribe.
Awolusi said: “I know from the facts revealed during investigation that the said bribe of N225,000 was accepted and acknowledged by Justice Yunusa in a text message to the applicant, wherein he said, ‘Thank you, my senior advocate.”
“I also know that investigations have revealed that the applicant’s law firm was in the habit of asking the Chief Registrar of the Lagos Judicial Division of the Federal High Court to assign his cases before His Lordship, Honourable Justice M.N. Yunusa in furtherance of the understanding between the applicant and the particular judge.”
However, Tarfa averred through Odubela that the money in question was a donation from a committee of friends of the judge including him, to support the judge for the burial of his late father-in-law in Maiduguri since they could not be there physically.
Odubela stated that his principal, Tarfa was not informed upon his arrest and detention on February 5, by EFCC that he was arrested on the allegation of bribing the judge.
He said the claim of EFCC that the judge acknowledged the receipt of the alleged bribe by a text message which reads “Thanks my Senior Advocate”, was untrue.
In urging the court to dismiss Tarfa’s claim for examplary damages of N2.5b, Shittu said from the facts showed that the commission never set out to arrest the applicant.
He said Tarfa invited arrest by obstructing the commission’s officials from carrying out their lawful duties.
“I urge the court to dismiss the entire suit with punitive costs,” Shittu added.
After listening to both parties Justice Idris adjourned the matter till February 29, for judgment.
