Judiciary
A Wuse Zone Two Magistrates’ Court, Abuja has disqualified itself from a case of alleged document falsification suit filed against a legal practitioner, James Idih.
The court came to the decision due to the inability of counsel to agree on the position the defendant was to take his plea from.
The matter which was adjourned until Feb.15 for arraignment, was to enable the court to study the case file which was earlier before another Magistrate who had been transferred.
However, when the matter was called, the complainant’s counsel, Abiodun Olutekubi, prayed the court to do the needful by insisting that the defendant, Idih take his plea from the dock.
Olutekubi in addition proceeded to cite Section 269 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act ( ACJA), as the basis for his argument.
According to the council, the section provided that where a defendant was summoned, he was required to enter the dock and take his plea except if there were circumstances that would not allow it.
He further cited the case of FRN vs Walter Onnoghen, whom he said entered the dock to take his plea and remained in the dock throughout his trial, even as a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
Sections 109, 139 of ACJA, Practice Direction Act, 2015, Section 36, 2 of the amended constitution of Nigeria, Ateke vs AGN 1981, were equally cited by Olutekubi to buttress his argument.
Idih, in his reply on Point of Law, insisted that he could take his plea from the bar without entering the dock as a legal practitioner who was representing himself.
He further said as at the time Walter Onnoghen entered the dock, there was already a charge against him from the office of the AGN.
Idih said it was neither the AGN, a private legal practitioner, nor the police that brought the charge against him, but a direct criminal charge filed by the complainant.
He also said the case of Ateke vs AGN, 1981 was decided in the old dispensation of law before the one that came into effect in 2015.
Idih in addition cited Section 106,383 of ACJA and Agu vs Ezenwa 2020 vol 10 Nigeria Weekly Report ( NWR), pages 233@259-260.
After listening to the argument of both counsel, the Magistrate, Njideka Duru directed them to come back by 12noon for the ruling of the court on whether or not the defendant could take his plea from the bar or not.
However, when a sister case was called, a similar argument ensued, whether or not the defendant who had entered the dock could take his plea without the case which came as a direct criminal complaint not be referred to the police for further investigation first before the defendant could take his plea.
This development necessitated the court to recuse itself from the two cases and ruled that the case files be returned to the central registry for reassignment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the matter which came before the court by way of a direct criminal complaint filed by Stephen Adamu Okunade, the complainant, is accusing the defendant, Idih of fabricating false evidence against him.
Okunade in his complaint alleged that the defendant between Nov. 2017 and early part of 2018 with the intent to maliciously injure his person by way of fabricating false evidence against him, invited two witnesses to his Chamber.
Okunade in addition alleged that the defendants made the two witnesses to sign witness statements he made on their behalf to defend a suit.
According to the complainant, the defendant without the knowledge of the two witnesses, however, fraudulently converted the statements signed in his Chamber to witness statements on oath.
He said the signed documents were to support a petition dated Feb. 28, 2018, the defendant wrote to the Sec-Gen of the Nigerian Institute of Architect (NIA), against him.
Okunade further alleged in his complaint that the petition letter as written against him by the defendant was titled “professional impropriety of Adamu Okunade in fraudulently defrauding the sum of N12, 000,000”. (NAN)
Feb. 24, 2021 @ 13:53 GMT
Tags: Alleged document falsification: Court disqualifies itself from proceeding
