EFCC to charge lawyer to court for obstructing justice

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria was arrested by the EFCC for obstruction of justice, when he hid two suspects wanted by the anti-graft agency in his car.

Most lawyers have however expressed their displeasure at the actions of the EFCC.

Speaking on the incident, an EFCC source who spoke to Punch said they are not to blame.

The source said “What happened on that day was that we went to arrest two Beninoise suspects but we stood outside the court premises because court was in session. When the suspects saw us, they remained on the premises of the court and Tarfa put them in his vehicle and turned on his air conditioner.”

Adding that “They remained in the vehicle from around 11am to 5pm. Within that time, Tarfa was making a series of telephone calls. At some point, when the fuel in his vehicle finished, he sent for petrol, all in a bid to obstruct justice."

“We finally went into the court premises and arrested all of them. There is no law that says you cannot arrest someone within the court premises. It is only when the court is sitting that you are not allowed to go to the court. We will charge him for obstruction of justice and attempting to pervert the course of justice latest by Thursday next week,” the source said.

Read: Ex Chief of Defence Staff detained by EFCC

Rickey Tarfa is the first lawyer from Adamawa State to be conferred with the prestigious award of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on September 25, 2000.