A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting in Bwari has abruptly closed a case filed by the Nigerian Police against the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Edozie Njoku, and another over alleged conspiracy to alter a judgment of the Supreme Court delivered by Justice Mary Peter Odili (retd.).
Justice Mohammed Madugu, who gave the order due to failure of police prosecutor, Rinasomte Ezekiel, to produce other witnesses in court, directed Njoku and Chukwuemeka Nwoga, the defendants in the charge, to open their case.
Justice Madugu recalled that the defendants were charged to court on November 22, 2022 by the police.
He said Ezekiel had made the court to see the urgency of the matter, and assured that he would close his case within two weeks.
The judge expressed dismay that since November 22, 2022, the police lawyer had only called two witnesses and caused several adjournments.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on July 4, Justice Madugu threatened to close the case of the prosecutor, if he failed to produce his remaining witnesses in court on the next adjourned date.
At a resumed trial, the judge, based on the oral application by the police lawyer for a five-minute stand down, magnanimously stood the matter down for an hour to enable the prosecution counsel to call his witnesses.
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But on resumption of sitting, Ezekiel informed the judge that his remaining witnesses said they would not appear before the court.
The prosecutor said the witnesses asked him to inform the court of their pending application before the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court for the matter to be transferred to another court.
When the judge asked him about his opinion on the development, Ezekiel said: “Everybody has freedom of expression,” adding that he aligned with the application of the witnesses.
Ezekiel sought an adjournment pending the time the CJ would take action on their application.
But the defence counsel, Panam Ntui, opposed the application for an adjournment.
He said the court had indulged the prosecution for so long, stressing that “even some of their excuses are untenable and lack any iota of probative value”.
Ntui added: “This latest antic is aimed at delaying proceedings, and shouldn’t be allowed.
“It is on record that from November 2022, when the defendants were arraigned, the prosecution said in two weeks, he would be closing his case.”
The lawyer argued that criminal case was of public interest and not for self-aggrandisement of the prosecution counsel.
The lawyer urged the court to close the case of the prosecution, having failed to call his witnesses.
Justice Madugu, who ordered that the police case be closed for lack of diligent prosecution, directed the defence to open its case.
Also, Ntui called Njoku as his first defence witness to give evidence-in-chief.