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FRIDAY JANUARY 13, 2017 • T H I S D AY
CRIME&PUNISHMENT
Lagos Gets Supreme Court’s Nod to Challenge Appeal Court’s Decision Freeing Al-Mustapha, Shofolahan Tobi Soniyi in Abuja The Supreme Court has granted Lagos State the leave to challenge
the Court of Appeal’s judgment which set aside the death sentence passed on the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late military
Police Arrest Socialite Putting Chain on Girls in Lagos The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a socialite, Mike Eze-Nwalie Nwogu popularly known as ‘Pretty Mike’ for dehumanizing young girls by turning them into human puppies with chains round their necks. Nwogu, a 30-year-old club owner in Ikeja area of the State, was arrested on Wednesday by the police on the orders of the Lagos State Government after news emerged on social media of the development. The suspect, in pictures which had since gone viral on the internet, was seen putting leash on young girls and leading them to a wedding in Lagos. The development caused outrage from many quarters with people calling on government to act fast to put a rein on such type of bizarre anti-social behavior. Nwogu was said to be cooperating with investigation
and had given useful statement to the police and was released after given an undertaking to desist from putting any woman or man on a leash to dehumanize them. According to the undertaking, Nwogu admitted knowing his action was against the law, but pledged not to further indulge in such behaviour. The undertaking read in part: “I, Mike Eze Nwalie, A.K.A Pretty Mike of 21A Magodo GRA, Luma Street, do hereby undertake to stop whatever act of putting girls on a leash or any other degrading treatment to ladies and guys. “I am aware that such act offends the law of the State of Lagos and if I repeat it again, there will be legal act towards me. “I undertake to issue a letter of apology to the public effective from tomorrow on all my social media platforms.”
Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Lateef Shofolahan by the state High Court for the killing of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of the late Chief MKO Abiola. The apex court in a brief ruling on the application by Lagos State for permission to re-open the case out of time, granted the request for the Lagos to challenge the Court of Appeal decision of July 12, 2013 that discharged and acquitted AlMustapha from the murder case. Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Samuel Onnoghen, in the ruling of a panel of seven justices, ordered Lagos State to file its notice of appeal within 30 days. The decision of Justice Onnoghen on the Lagos application argued by Osunsanya Oluwayemisi, a Senior State Counsel in the Lagos Ministry of Justice followed the consent of Al-Mustapha’s lawyer, Mr. Joseph Dauda (SAN), not to oppose the application.
The acting CJN said by the decision of the apex court, the time for Lagos to appeal against the findings of the Court of Appeal on the celebrated murder case was extended from July 12, 2013 when the appeal court judgment was delivered till yesterday. The coast is now clear for the Lagos to challenge the no guilty verdict granted in favour of AlMustapha and his co-accused. Lagos had filed its notice of appeal out of the time allowed by court’s rules to challenge a judgment of a lower court. It then required the leave of the Supreme Court before the appeal could be deemed to have been properly filed. The state had therefore sought the permission of the apex court to allow it challenge the Appeal Court findings of Justices Amina Adamu Augie, Rita Nosakhare Pemu and Fatimo Omoro Akinbami on ground of miscarriage of justice in the matter.
The state, had in the application, prayed the apex court to allow it to exercise its constitutional right to test the validity and correctness of the decision of the Appeal Court. Lagos said the appeal raised legal and factual issues especially the question of whether there was any direct or circumstantial evidence establishing the guilt of Al-Mustapha. It justified its lateness in filing the appeal on the ground that it set up two legal teams to review the circumstances of the case and the verdict of the Court of Appeal. The government said that it took a long time for the two legal teams to present their findings and recommended that an appeal should be filed and sustained. Lagos is asking the apex court to uphold and restore the death sentence by hanging passed on Al-Mustapha by a Lagos High Court on January 30, 2012. Al-Mustapha and Lateef
Shofolahan, the driver of the late Kudirat were arraigned before a Lagos high court on a two-count criminal charge of conspiracy to commit murder and the murder of Kudirat Abiola on June 4, 1996 in Lagos State. In the judgment of the high court delivered on January 30, 2012 by Justice Moji Dada, the accused persons were found culpable as charged. They were consequently sentenced them to death by hanging. However at the Court of Appeal approached by AlMustapha on April 27, 2012 for the review of the trial and the conviction, the three-member appellate court justices in a unanimous judgment of July 12, 2013 voided the decision of the high court, set it aside and discharged and acquitted the accused on the ground that the evidence against them was not strong enough to warrant the death sentence.
Ajudua’s $8.4m Fraud Trial Stalled Again Aknwale Akintunde The trial of a one time Lagos socialite, Mr. Fred Ajudua, over allegations that he defrauded former Chief of Army Staff, General Ishaya Bamaiyi (trd), of $8.4million was again stalled yesterday following an application he filed to challenge the power of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prosecute him. The EFCC charged Ajudua for allegedly collecting various sums of money from Gen. Bamaiyi while the duo were in custody at Kirikiri Prison, Lagos. According to EFCC, Ajudua alongside his accomplices allegedly defrauded Bamaiyi at the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons, where he and the other fraud suspects were remanded for alleged murder of late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola. The anti-graft agency also alleged that Ajudua and others fraudulently claimed that $1m out of the total money collected from Bamaiyi was for financial assistance for the treatment of Justice Olubunmi Oyewole’s father, who was handling Bamaiyi’s case then. Also, the former Chief of Army Staff, was said to have parted with the money in foreign currency to also bribe some eminent personalities to intervene in his case where he was charged alongside Major Hamza Al-Mustapha for the alleged murder. He was latter discharged and acquitted by the trial court. The suspects were said to have informed Bamaiyi that Oyewole’s father, was admitted at Saint Nicholas in Lagos and the $1million was meant to assist the
judge in treating his father. EFCC said the offences of conspiracy and obtaining by false pretences contravened Sections 8(a) and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud Related Offences Act. No. 13 of 1995 as amended by Act No. 62 of 1999. However, Ajudua co-defendant, Oluronke Rosulu, who was Justice Oyewole’s Court Registrar, opted for separate trial and was last year sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by Justice Lawal-Akapo. Ajudua’s trial was originally before Justice Kudirat Jose but was last year transferred to Justice Josephine Efunkunbi Oyefeso. At yesterday’s proceedings, Ajudua who wore white caftan opposed EFCC’s effort to re-arraign him on an amended charge. Ajudua’s lawyer, Mr. S.A Quakers (SAN), told the court that under the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, the EFCC has no powers to prosecute his client. Quakers also raised objection against the amended charges stating that his client cannot be arraigned on the new information before the court since the anti-graft agency failed to obtain his witness statement. Responding, EFCC lawyer, Seidu Atteh, countered the argument saying that it was not necessary for the EFCC to obtain statement from defendant simply because the charges were amended. Atteh pointed out that Ajudua had personally refused to volunteer any statement to the commission over the allegations against him. Justice Oyefeso insisted that parties should harmonise their arguments instead of presenting them peace-meal.
MAPPING STRATEGIES
L-R: Inspector General of Police, Idris .K. Ibrahim; Director General, Department of State Services (DSS); Lawal Musa Daura; and Chief of Army Staff; Lt-General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, after the security meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja ....yesterday . Godwin Omoigui
Ondo: Police To Prosecute Killer’s Father James Sowole in Akure The Ondo State Police Command said yesterday that it would prosecute Mr. Olanrewaju Afolabi, the father of the boy who allegedly killed his friend with a dane gun in Ondo town , Ondo State on Wednesday. The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the Ondo State Command, Mr Femi Joseph said Afolabi would face prosecution for his negligence saying that he shouldn’t have left the gun at the reach of the boy. Afolabi’s son, Ayo, 11, reportedly killed his friend, Comfort Emmanuel, with his father’s dane gun at Ayeyemi area of the Ondo town while playing with the gun when the father was not aahome. The development led the state
police command to arrest and detain both the father and his son for interrogation . He said, “ We will round off our investigation, the father of the boy would be charged to court on Monday . He would be charged for negligence. The law would certainly take its due course. “ There is nothing we can do to bring the deceased back to life, the only thing we can do is to ensure justice is done to the matter by arresting the man and take him to court to go and defend himself before the law and tell court why he allowed the negligence to happen” On the issue of the son, the PPRO explained that the command would seek legal advice on what to do about the boy. He said the boy was still in the custody of the command at the press time .
One dies as Gbagy Residents, Fulanis Clash in Niger Laleye Dipo in Minna
Residents of Gbagy community in Niger State and Fulanis again clashed in the Sabon-Ndaga village near Minna on Thursday evening the second of such incident within 48 hours. One Fulani man was said to have been killed in the latest crisis. The police which described the incident as a “ reprisal “ blamed the Gbagy’s for the latest disturbance. Police Public Relations Officer DSP Bala Elkana who confirmed the incident said the timely intervention of the police stopped the incident from escalating. Elkana said reinforcement of security men had been despatched to the troubled community. Last Tuesday evening four people were killed in a clash between members of the two tribes.
The clash was over the refusal of the Gbagy’s to allow herdsmen to graze their cattle on their farmland a development that degenerated to a free for all during which dangerous weapons were used by both parties resulting in the casualty. In the meantime the Niger state governor Alhaji Abubakar Sani. Bello has warned the warring communities to toe the line of peace saying that without peace there could be no development. Governor Bello who visited the troubled communities on Thursday said government would not take lightly people taking laws into their hands. He said the disturbance was the handwork of rumour mongers warning that they would be apprehended and prosecuted according to the law.