Federal High Court Rejects Request to Dismiss Terrorism Charges Against Governor Fubara’s Allies
Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, rejected a request to dismiss a seven-count terrorism charge filed by the Inspector General of Police against five supporters of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State.
The defendants; Chime Eguma Ezebalike, Prince Lukman Oladele, Kenneth Goodluck Kpasa, Osiga Donald, and Ochueja Thankgod, were remanded at Kuje prison in Abuja on January 25 over allegations of complicity in the invasion, vandalism, and arson of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex.
The police alleged that the defendants, amidst the political crisis in the state last October, invaded the House of Assembly complex to thwart an attempt to impeach the governor.
They were also accused of killing Superintendent of Police SP, Bako Agbashim, and five police informants in Ahoada community in Rivers State.
The three police informants allegedly killed by the defendants were named as; Charles Osu, Ogbonna Eja, Idaowuka Felix, Paul Victor Chibuogu, and Saturday Edi.
The prosecution further accused the defendants of using various cult groups, namely; Supreme Vikings Confraternity, Degbam, Iceland, and Greenland, to unleash violence on the people of the state and disrupt their commercial activities.
However, during the proceedings on Friday, two of the defendants, Ezebalike and Oladele, challenged the competence of the charge, arguing that the IGP lacked the authority to file the action.
They urged the court to dismiss the charge for constituting an abuse of the judicial process.
According to them, under sections 3 and 74 of the Terrorism Prevention & Prohibition Act, TPPA, 2022, only the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, was empowered to institute such action against anyone.
They argued that security agencies like the police should only be responsible for gathering intelligence and investigating such cases.
The defendants contended that since the charge lacked competence, the court lacked the jurisdiction to try them.
Justice Bolaji Olajuwodn dismissed the preliminary objection, stating that the power to institute a criminal proceeding was not exclusively vested in the AGF according to section 174 of the TPPA 2022.
The court ruled that the charge was competent and that the police had the statutory powers to prosecute the defendants.
Therefore, it dismissed the objections as lacking in merit.
Justice Olajuwon said she would rule on Monday on the defendants’ applications for bail pending the determination of the charge against them.
The police, through their lawyer, Mr. Simon Lough, SAN, urged the court to deny them bail, arguing that they failed to establish any exceptional circumstance warranting their release from prison custody.
Instead, the police lawyer requested an accelerated hearing of the case.
Meanwhile, earlier in the proceedings, the court dismissed an application filed by the former factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Edison Ehie, for the charge to be struck out.
Ehie, who is currently the Chief of Staff to Governor Fubara, was mentioned in some counts in the charge.
The police informed the court that he was at large.
When the matter came up on Friday, Ehie, who had already been declared wanted by another judge of the court, through his lawyer, Mr. Oluwole Aladedoye, SAN, requested the court to strike out any part of the charge where his name was mentioned.
Justice Olajuwon refused the request, stating that he was not a proper party before the court since he was not listed as one of the defendants in the matter.
Vanguard News
