Juliana Francis
A human rights lawyer, Mr Lekan Alabi, who is also member of the Human Rights Monitoring Agenda (HURMA), a civil society group, has urged the Honourable Attorney General (AGF) and Minister of Justice Federal Ministry of Justice, Honourable Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, as a matter of urgency to carry out sanitising investigation of his ministry and fish out lawyers who might be using the name of the office for monkey business.
Alabi made this urgent call after a lawyer, who claimed to be from the office of the AGF, told him that he had a fiat to try Alabi’s seven clients in court.
He was stunned to hear such news, especially since the case involving the clients, identified as Mohammed Yahaya, Abdul-Hakeem Mudathir Kewudirorun, Yusuf Olatunde Adepoju, Mubarak Adepoju, Tunde Badmus, Adelakun Gideon and Abdul-Rasaz Akinola, was yet to be investigated.
Alabi said that his clients were being charged with cyberbullying and cyberstalking.
According to the charge sheet, these seven men were charged “with impersonating Jamiu Adegunwa Using fake phone number with the intent to defraud and deceive members of the public in a bid to portray him in a way clearly suggestive of being a fraudster through your Facebook accounts and thereby committed offence contrary to and punishable under section 22(2)(3) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act of 2015.”
The human rights lawyer maintained that all seasoned lawyers knew that a case that had not been investigated could never be charged to court.
He said that it was the lawyer’s claim and the obvious unprofessionalism that made him suspect that Fagbemi, a seasoned lawyer, would not be a party to such and that the lawyer who claimed to be from the AGF’s office, might not even be from there.
Alabi, who spoke with a selected crop of journalists on Sunday the 6th of October 2024, via webinar, said that he had written a petition to the AGF to find out why it would give a fiat to the lawyer to try a case that was yet to be investigated.
He stated that it was already three weeks and still counting since he submitted the petition, but he had yet to receive a response.
The lawyer maintained that the charge brought against his seven clients was illegal and unconstitutional, contrary to the provision of Section 36(1) &(2) Of the Constitution of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended).
According to Alabi, his organisation was keen on the protection of the violations of the fundamental rights of persons as entrenched in the relevant provisions and, as such, he has a strong bias for the defence of the oppressed and victims of human rights abuses.
Recalling how his organisation got involved in the matter, Alabi explained that Mr Yusuf Adepoju, Mubarak Adepoju, Tunde Badmus (a.k.a Uptown), Adelakun Gideon And Abdul-Rasaq Akinola complained to his organisation against the illegal and unconstitutional exercise of power against them in respect of Charge No: FHC/4421C/22 between the Federal Republic of Nigeria V. Muhammed Yahaya and 6 Ors. Pending before Honourable Justice Deinde .I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division.
Alabi narrated: “The complainants herein informed our organisation that the officers of the Nigeria Police Force, Zone 2, Command never invited them to make representation about the allegations of crime against them.
“The officers of the Nigeria Police Force, Zone 2, Command never showed any petition of allegation of crime by one Ustaz Jamiu Adegunwa or any other persons before the charge was pressed against them.
“The officers of the Nigeria Police Force, Zone 2, Command did not investigate the allegation of cybercrime levied against my clients by Ustaz Jamiu Adegunwa or any other persons.
“My clients were highly surprised and embarrassed that there was a pending charge against them before the Federal High Court, Lagos being presided over by Honourable Justice Deinde .I. Dipeolu. Before the Charge was reassigned to His Lordship, it is on the court record that Honourable Justice I.N. Oweibo was the presiding Judge over the case.
“As an organisation, we have had a cause to petition the Zone 2 Command, Onikan Lagos, by our Letter dated the 7th day of November 2022 to express the Complainants’ dismay over the illegal exercise of power by the Police Command.
“Upon receipt of the petition, the Command was highly scandalised that the innocent citizens of this great country could be charged to a court of competent jurisdiction in respect of an offence that was never investigated premised on the Charge filed by one E. I Onime Esq under the supervision of a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Paul Idenyemin Esq.”
He further stated that it was on the strength of the petition that the Police, having realised the illegality and futility of their action, filed a Motion Ex-parte dated the 12th day of December 2023 to withdraw the frivolous and illegal Charge.
He noted that in the Affidavit in Support of the Motion Ex-parte dated the 12th of December 2023 deposed to by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ahmed Kanike, the Police confirmed that the case was never investigated before the Charge was preferred against the suspects.
Alabi said that Kanike stated thus: “I am attached to the Legal and Prosecution Section of the Nigeria Police Force, Zone 2 Headquarters, Onikan Lagos, where I was informed and aware of the facts stated hereunder.
“ASP Onime Idowu Esq is a Counsel and an Assistant Superintendent of Police formerly attached to our Office at Onikan here in Lagos before his transfer to Ogun State Police Command last year.
“His transfer was based on a Petition from the Defendants in this Charge No. FHC/L/421C/2021 who complained of shoddy investigation and lack of transparency in the prosecution of the charge.
“It is true that a petition dated 6th October 2021 written by one Alhaji Jamiu Adegunwa of 26, Alubarika Street, Ijesha-Tedo, Surulere, Lagos against one Muhammed Yahaya and Abdulhakeem Mudafari Kamaruorun alleging conspiracy, threat to life, impersonation, blackmail, cyberbullying and stalking, character assassination and demanding with menace was investigated in our Office.
“The Petition is annexed as NPF 1. Further to para 4 above, save for the 2nd Defendant, all others were never invited for investigation nor were their extra-judicial statements obtained before they were charged to this Court in absentia.
“ A cursory look at the Petition heading shows that the six Defendants’ names were not mentioned. The AIG Zone 2 did not direct nor approve the charge before this Honourable Court.
“There have been a series of Complaints to the Inspector-General of Police over the shoddy investigation and prosecution, hence the directive by the AIG Zone 2 Command, Onikan to withdraw the charge herein annexed as NPF 2 for proper investigation and prosecution.”
Alabi explained that on the 3rd day of March 2023, strangely, T.A. Mukuolu Esq., Assistant Chief State Counsel, appeared before his Lordship, Honourable Justice I.N. Oweibo to take over the Charge on behalf of the AGF.
He said that on the 5th day of March 2024, Oladayo Ogungbe Esq. appeared before the Honourable Justice Deinde .I. Dipeolu, in respect of the Charge and informed the Court that he had the fiat of the Learned AGF to prosecute the Charge as a private prosecutor.
Alabi emphatically states: “As a human rights organisation, we do not see any legal justification for the prosecution of the Defendants without any investigation by the police.
“We want to respectfully believe that some compromised members of staff in the Federal Ministry of Justice are hell-bent on undermining the enormous power of the Attorney General by turning it into a weapon of vendetta against innocent citizens of this country.
“We cannot see any legal or moral basis for railroading innocent citizens to prison in the name of prosecution without investigation. We believe that the involvement of the office of the Learned Attorney General was the vestige of the last administration before the emergence of the current seasoned and tested AGF.
“We call on your (AGF) revered office to investigate T.A. Mukuolu Esq., Assistant Chief State Counsel, about his role on who instructed him to take over the Charge on behalf of the office of the Attorney General and why a minister in the temple of justice could shut his eyes on the obvious facts stated on oath, by the police that the allegation of crime against the Defendants had not been investigated by them before the Charge was preferred.
“Equally, we call on your office to investigate the procedure which Oladayo Ogungbe Esq. obtained a fiat to prosecute the Defendants without investigation by the police.
“With profound respect to the office of the AGF, there is no lawyer anywhere in the world who is not familiar with the criminal jurisprudence of the investigation of crime before the prosecution should prima facie case be sustained against a suspect.
“This elementary position of the law strengthens our view that Messrs T.A. Mukuolu Esq., Assistant Chief State Counsel and Oladayo Ogungbe Esq. are tools in the hands of one Ustaz Jamiu Adegunwa to unreasonably and embarrassingly exercise the prosecutorial power of your exalted office.”
The petition reads in part: “We humbly call on your office to expeditiously exercise your administrative and constitutional powers to treat the issues raised in this petition to halt the disgraceful display of abuse of power.
“For ease of reference, we hereby annex to this letter the following documents for your kind perusal, Charge dated the 22nd day of July 2022, Letter dated the 7th day of November 2022, Records of Proceedings of the Honourable Court dated the 3rd day of March 2023 presided over by Honourable Justice I.N.OWEIBO;
“Affidavit in Support of the Motion Ex-parte dated the 12th day of December 2023 deposed to by ASP Ahmed Kanike and Records of Proceedings of the Honourable Court dated the 5th day of March 2024 and 15th day of May 2024 presided over by Honourable Justice D.I. DIPEOLU.”
