Skip to main content

Nigeria’s AGF, Malami, Moves To Twist Land Grabbing Case In Favour Of Ned Nwoko

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, in abusing the power of his office, has stepped into the case involving Nigerian billionaire and former senator, Ned Nwoko, and some residents of Idumuje-Ugboko in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State for opposing his attempt to forcefully acquire additional 90 hectares of land from an area earmarked for all indigenes of the community.

The former senator sought the intervention of the Justice Minister to twist the case in his favour.

Residents of Idumuje Ugboko community are accusing Nwoko of using the police and Ministry of Justice to dubiously harass, intimidate and lock up elders and sons of the town.


In the case with charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/11/19 currently before a Federal High Court, Abuja, some community residents were dragged to court and charged for murder.

Cheta Okolo and Onyeisi Isuzor, who Nwoko saw as a barrier to his illegal ownership of the land, are both standing trial for terrorism and murder at the Abuja court.

The defendants wrote the court to transfer the case to Asaba being the appropriate and convenient jurisdiction for the trial of the case in line with Sections 93(1), 98(1) and 386(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.

However, interfering in the matter after being approached by Nwoko, Malami wrote an official letter to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, directing him not to transfer the case from Abuja.

See Also

CRIME

How Ned Nwoko Humiliated Monarch, Asked Police To Dig Up Palace

0 Comments

1 Month Ago


Malami claimed that continuing the trial in Abuja would guarantee the safety of the lives of the prosecution witness and others involved in the case.

He said, “May I respectfully bring to the attention of Your Lordship that the decision to prosecute the matter in Abuja borders strictly on security and safety of lives of all the parties involved especially the prosecution witnesses who are mostly inhabitants of the said community in the light of the nature of the offence and the status of the defendants in the case.

“My Lord may wish to also note that the matter is already ongoing before the Abuja Division of the court without any hitches before the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice sudden transfer on account of a petition by the counsel who is not a party in the case on record. This development has no doubt brought a set back to the wheel of progress in this case.”

On July 7, 2020, the Nathaniel Bama, who Nwoko said was attacked by the duo, swore to an affidavit that they did not commit any crime against him.

The DPP on August 4, 2020, advised that there was no prima facie case against Cheta and Onyeisi, and recommended their release from custody.

It was further learnt that on the DPP’s advice, the magistrate court on August 5, 2020 struck out the charges against Cheta and Onyeisi and ordered their release.

Instead of releasing them, SaharaReporters gathered that the duo were transferred to the Force Criminal Investigative Department in Abuja on the orders of Nwoko where they have been in custody for weeks.

Having gotten wind that the DPP had again advised that there was no prima facie case against them, the former lawmaker quickly got officials of Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja, to file a charge of terrorism and murder against Cheta and Onyeisi at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

SaharaReporters recall that residents of Idumuje Ugboko had earlier accused Nwoko of using police and Ministry of Justice officials to dubiously harass, intimidate and lock up elders and sons of the town.

“He imports police from Abuja to ambush and arrest the men who oppose him, then transfer them to Abuja and have them locked up indefinitely without due process. Many of them were held in Kuje Prison on trumped up charges of terrorism and murder for months, while others were unjustly locked up for upward of two years in Agbor Prison, Delta State.

“It is imperative to place on record that the Nigeria Police Force has become a willing tool in Ned’s malevolent schemes to totally annihilate any opposition in his inordinate quest to forcefully dispossess the ordinary people of Idumuje Ugboko of the ancestrally bequeathed possession,” the residents said in a petition signed by Jerry Isichel and Daniel Osakwe and submitted to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.

Politics

Scandal

News

AddThis

: 

Original Author

: 

SaharaReporters, New York

Disable advertisements

: 

from 24HRSNEWS
via 24HRSNEWS



from EDUPEDIA247https://ift.tt/33w1nyp
via EDUPEDIA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dust haze weather to prevail on Thursday, December 27

- The Nigerian Meteorological agency (NiMet) predicts thick dust haze weather conditions over most parts of the country - NiMet predicts northern states would experience dust haze - The agency also predicts early morning mist/fog is expected over the coastal cities The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted thick dust haze weather conditions with reduced visibility over most parts of the country on Thursday, December 27. NiMet’s Weather Outlook on Wednesday, December 26, in Abuja, revealed that the central region of the country would record dust haze condition with visibility range of two to five kilometres throughout the day. It added that day and night temperatures of 27 degrees Celsius to 34 degrees Celsius and 10 degrees Celsius to 20 degrees Celsius, respectively, would prevail over the region. READ ALSO: Police reportedly arrest Badeh’s alleged killers The agency predicted that the northern states would experience dust haze with visibility range of two to fi...
Post a Comment
Read more

N2.5bn Fraud: You Have Case To Answer, Appeal Court Tells Suspended NBC Boss, Kawu

The Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, Ishaq Kawu. The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, has dismissed an appeal filed by the suspended Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Dr Moddibbo Kawu, challenging the decision of the Federal High Court, to dismiss the no-case submission he filed at the lower court. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission had charged Kawu, Lucky Omoluwa (late Chairman of Pinnacle Communications Ltd) and Dipo Onifade, Chief Operating Officer of the same company, before Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo-Giwa, on a 12-count charge of money laundering. Is'haq Modibbo Kaw THISDAYLIVE The suspended NBC boss and his co-accused then approached the appellate court to reverse the judgment of the Federal High Court. The appellate dismissed the no-case submission filed by Kawu and his co-accused and held that they had an explanation to give when he elected to facilitate the payment of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Buhari’s Legacy Of Recessions By Fredrick Nwabufo

Fredrick Nwabufo ‘Why always Buhari?’ As it was in 1984 under General Buhari, so it is in 2016 and 2020 under President Buhari? Is it by the unfortunate hands of kismet that recession hits Nigeria every time Buhari takes charge of the country’s affairs? If the recession of the 80s under Buhari was a conspiracy by economic and political factors, to what do we attribute that of his first coming as a civilian President — and now in his second coming? Why does pestilence scourge the land, hunger ravage the population and lives lost malevolently when Buhari presides over the country? Why always Buhari? Buhari’s undoing is his wonted predilection for hierarchising ethnicity, religion and loyalty above competence. Since 1999, no President has obtrusively shown a more nepotistic aspect than Buhari. It is unarguable that the President arrays the most competence-challenged cabinet ever in the chronicle of governance in Nigeria. Yes, a recession cabinet. Fredrick Nwabufo Here is a cabin...
Post a Comment
Read more