EKO HOT BLOG reports that Justice Mohammed Madugu of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Bwari has ruled in favour of Edozie Njoku, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), dismissing all forgery allegations made against him by the Nigeria Police.
The police had accused Njoku and APGA’s Youth leader, Chukwuemeka Nwoga, of conspiring to alter a Supreme Court judgment originally delivered by Justice Mary Peter Odili.
EDITOR’S PICKS
-
APC Wins In Ekiti Local Government Election, Secures All 38 Chairmanship, 177 Councilor Seats
-
JUST IN: Tension As Fire Breaks Out At NNPC Filling Station In Iseyin, Oyo
-
Police Apprehend Suspected Killers Of Imo DPO, Inspector
In his judgment on Tuesday, Justice Madugu rejected all 14 counts brought against Njoku, effectively clearing him of the charges.
The court held that due to “lack of sufficient and credible evidence, the prosecution has failed woefully to prove its case against the defendants.
“I find the 1st defendant, Chief Edozie Njoku and the 2nd defendant, Chukwuma Nwoga not guilty as charged, and therefore they have been discharged and acquitted.”
The defence counsel had urged the court to discharge and acquit the defendants because the police had failed woefully to discharge the burden of proof solely placed on them by law.
The court adopted the issue formulated by the defence counsel to determine whether the prosecution had proven its case against the defendants beyond reasonable doubt.
By section 138 of the Evidence Act, the court noted that the prosecution is expected to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice Madugu in his judgement stated that “it is crystal clear that internal disputes in APGA had played a significant role in causing the complexity of the case.”
In the 1st count, the court noted that being an allegation of criminal conspiracy, it must be proven by the prosecution with circumstantial evidence.
However, the court held that the prosecution witness did not produce any evidence linking the defendants with an agreement or conspiracy to commit the alleged offence.
FURTHER READING
-
Police Confirm Arrest Of Kano Gov’s Aide Over Alleged Diversion of State’s Palliatives
-
Presidency Reacts To Outrage Over Tinubu’s Delegates To COP28 Summit
-
FG Yet To Release Withheld Salaries Of University Lecturers – Report
“In accordance with section 178 of the penal code, the prosecution did not establish any dishonest intent following the letter Njoku wrote to Justice Mary Peter Odilli, retired.”
Click to watch our video of the week
Discover more from EkoHotBlog
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
Advertise or Publish a Story on EkoHot Blog:
Kindly contact us at [email protected]. Breaking stories should be sent to the above email and substantiated with pictorial evidence.
Citizen journalists will receive a token as data incentive.
Call or Whatsapp: 0803 561 7233, 0703 414 5611