The forgery trial of the National Chairman of APGA, Chief Edozie Njoku and the National Youth Leader, Chukwuemeka Nwoga has been adjourned to March 13th.
Police prosecutor, CSP Rimasomte, in a stunning admission informed the Court that someone else corrected the same judgment for which Edozie Njoku is on trial.
The Police had arraigned Njoku and Nwoga for forging the Supreme Court ruling of October 14th, 2021 by replacing Victor Oye’s name with Edozie Njoku’s name on May 9th, 2022.
Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili, after an application from Edozie Njoku which pointed out the error of naming Victor Oye as the chairman whose removal was not justiceable corrected the judgment and replaced Oye’s name with Edozie Njoku on the 9th of May, 2022.
Victor Oye petitioned the Police and other security services alleging forgery of the Supreme Court judgement.
The Police arraigned Edozie Njoku and Chukwuemeka Nwoga on 28th November on 14 count charges of forgery. They were remanded at Suleija prison for two days by Justice M.A. Madugu of the FCT High Court, Bwari. They were subsequently granted bail.
At the resumed trial this morning, the Police prosecutor, CSP Ezekiel Rimasomte, informed the Court that the Police had amended the charges and included a third accused, Mrs. Ogunseye Adebisi. Adebisi was personal assistant to Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili.
“We went through the investigation file and saw that Mrs. Ogunseye Adebiyi was the Personal Assistant to the Hon. Justice Mary Peter Odili (Rtd). She confessed in writing that her Lordship told her to alter the Judgment of 14/10/2021 to reflect the name of the 1st Defendant,” CSP Rimasomte said in Court this morning.
Rimasomte also asked the Court to issue a bench warrant on Mrs. Adebisi for not being in Court.
According to Court records, the Court registrar said Adebisi had not been served. The Judge overruled Rimasomte.
“This application made by the prosecution is amazing and ridiculous,” the Court ruled.
The Court further ruled that, “there is nothing in the case file evidencing proof of service of the proposed 3rd defendant. In fact, the proposed 3rd defendant is not known to this court. To grant prosecution’s application will amount to judicial irresponsibility.
In the circumstance, application for Bench Warrant against the proposed 3rd defendant is hereby refused.”
Ezekiel Rimasomte asked for a short adjournment to bring the 3rd defendant to court.
An APGA chieftain who was in court this morning told Elendureports that the trial of Njoku and Nwoga is a travesty of the highest order.
“The silence of the Chief Justice of Nigeria in the face of this travesty is a threat to the credibility of the Judiciary and even the survival of our nascent democracy.
An aggrieved party procures the Police to charge two innocent people for forgery of a Supreme Court judgement. Neither the Supreme Court nor the retired Justice complained of forgery. In fact Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili even took the unprecedented step of writing a letter to Njoku admitting a trajectory of errors and yet the Police still went ahead to prosecute Njoku and Nwoga. The silence of the Chief Justice while this matter continues can be seen as a tacit acquiescence,” the APGA chieftain lamented.
