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Citing EFCC’s letter, London court denies Ekweremadu bail again, trial begins January 31
• What transpired in Court on Tuesday
The Central Criminal Court, London, otherwise known as the Old Bailey, has once again, denied former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, bail, on the grounds that he is a flight risk, citing the letter and assets forfeiture proceedings against the Senator by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The court gave its verdict at a pre-trial hearing in London, Tuesday.
In the bail application, Ekweremadu’s attorneys had argued that the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and the Attorney-General of the Federal had given written the court that Ekweremadu was not a flight risk and gave a guarantee to produce him should he do otherwise.
They also reminded the court that the Nigeria High Commission in the UK had equally given the option of tagging Ekweremadu electronically to monitor his movement.
Also citing other character attestation by other well respected Nigerians and organisations as well as Ekweremadu’s involvement in other global courses that champion humanity and noting that Ekweremadu “is a highly regarded, well known public figure”, his defence equally argued that the lawmaker had shown himself a caring and responsible father and therefore could not possibly escape from London abandoning his wife and sick daughter.
The defence further told the court that they had sureties and securities of nearly half a million pounds sterling from 11 people to secure Ekweremadu’s release on bail.
However, just as during the July 2022 bail application hearing, the prosecution insisted that Ekweremadu was a flight risk, citing once again, the 18th July 2022 letter by the EFCC signed on behalf of the Executive Chairman, Abdulraheed Bawa by the Assistant Director Operations, Abdulkarim Chukkoi.
Prosecution equally cited the ongoing assets forfeiture proceedings against the former three-term Deputy Senate President in the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Although the EFCC had investigated Ekweremadu for many years without charging the lawmaker to court, the anti-graft agency had upon his arrest and a 17th July 2022 enquiry by the London Metropolitan Police, indicted Ekweremadu and vowed to immediately institute assets forfeiture proceedings and criminal processes against him while in custody in London.
The prosecution equally argued that as a holder of the international passports of two other countries, the lawmaker could also escape to any of the other countries other than Nigeria.
Having heard from both sides, the Judge said: “I am entirely satisfied there remains a flight risk,” noting that bail would not make much difference “as the trial is just over a month away.”
Consequently, he said his ruling was, “this bail application is refused.”
The trial of the Ekweremadus will now stand trial beginning from 31st January 2023. Recall that at an earlier hearing in November, the court moved the trial from May to January.
Meanwhile, the Tuesday proceedings appear to have confirmed claim in the Federal High Court, Abuja, by Ekweremadu’s lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), that EFCC truncated Ekweremadu’s bail application in July.
Awomolu also accused the EFCC of dishonestly obtaining an interim assets forfeiture order against the lawmaker by withholding vital information from Justice Inyang Ekpo.
Awomolu accused the EFCC of shielding the fact that the lawmaker was in detention in London, hence not in a position to defend himself and that while it started investigation of Ekweremadu for well over a decade, it only found it auspicious to indict and move against him he had issues in London and was facing trial.
It is recalled that the youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide and the civil rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association, HURIWA, have variously accused the anti-graft agency of complicity in Ekweremadu’s London travail.
In a statement by its National President, Mazi Okwu Nnabuihe, Ohanaeze youths accused the EFCC of double standard, persecution, and assets stripping of southern persons and businesses.
Faulting both timing and motive, HURIWA, on its part, held that EFCC’s letter and assets forfeiture lawsuit against Ekweremadu “at a time he was in custody, facing trial in the United Kingdom, and unable to defend himself or properly brief his lawyers was malicious, immoral, in bad faith, and tantamount to a country throwing her citizen under the bus”.
However, the EFCC, through its lawyer, Mr. Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), had however dismissed the allegations, saying it was a mere coincidence as there was no legally stipulated time frame for the EFCC to initiate forfeiture proceedings or criminal charges against a suspect.
Meanwhile, Ekweremadu is an opposition leader who has had running battles with the ruling party.
Supporters of the Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, were reportedly attacked during a campaign activity in Warri, Delta State. HireGrant Writers
The incident was disclosed by Esther Umoh, a photographer associated with Obi, in a post on X.
Umoh alleged that politically sponsored thugs attacked members of the campaign team while they were campaigning in Warri.
According to her, those affected included members of the entourage of the Delta State governorship candidate, as well as supporters of the Obidient and Kwankwasiya movements.
“As of this morning, politically sponsored thugs reportedly opened fire on @MamaPee__, @Drmopaul, @dchrisiyovwaye, the Delta State governorship candidate, members of his entourage, and other Obidient and Kwankwasiya supporters who were out campaigning in Warri,” she wrote.
A video shared alongside the allegation showed people running amid a chaotic scene.
A voice in the video was heard saying, “Look at the thŭgs, they came to attack us. We must face them. We are fully ready for them.”
The reported attack comes as supporters of Obi and Kwankwaso continue their mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Obi and Kwankwaso are being mobilised under the NDC platform, with members of the Obidient and Kwankwasiyya movements also involved in the wider support structure.
The Obi-Kwankwaso support movement recently announced a 59-member presidential campaign council made up of coordinators and directors from across the country.
The 30-year-old aluminium fixer and student of a polytechnic in Kwara State had spent days in police detention and prison custody following a dispute that began with an alleged N8,000 debt.
His parents had stood as sureties to perfect his bail.
He was finally home and free.
But his mother, Simiat Mohammed, said the son who returned to the family was not the same man who had left days earlier.
He barely ate. He withdrew from people. Again and again, she said, Al-Amin complained about the humiliation of being detained, taken to court and remanded in prison over an allegation he insisted was untrue.
“He kept saying that they wanted to tarnish his image because he came from a poor family and that he was sent to prison for a crime he did not commit,” the grieving mother told Saturday PUNCH amid tears.
Three days after his release, tragedy struck.
On September 17, Al-Amin ingested rat poison at his residence in Ibadan.
Before then, according to his family, he recorded a voice note expressing frustration and saying what would become his final words to his mother.
“He said the frustration was too much and asked his siblings to take care of me. He mentioned my name and apologised, telling me not to be angry with him,” Simiat recalled.
The family rushed him from one hospital to another in a desperate attempt to save his life.
His father, Habeeb Mohammed, said three hospitals rejected him before the family eventually got to the University College Hospital, Ibadan.
“We were asked to make some payments before he could be attended to. After we paid, the doctor came and told us that he was dead,” he said.
For the Mohammed family, the death brought a devastating end to a chain of events that they say should never have gone beyond a minor disagreement.
How N8,000 debt became police case
According to Simiat, her son had borrowed N23,000 from a Point-of-Sale operator identified simply as Kazeem.
Al-Amin had repaid N15,000, leaving a balance of N8,000.
But a disagreement subsequently broke out, during which Kazeem allegedly seized Al-Amin’s mobile phone over the unpaid balance.
The 30-year-old later returned to retrieve his phone, leading to a struggle.
His mother said the confrontation was minor, but it set off events that eventually took her son through vigilante detention, a police cell, a courtroom and prison custody.
After the altercation, Al-Amin was allegedly detained overnight by a vigilante said to be the father of one of Kazeem’s employees.
The following day, September 9, he was allegedly handed over to officers at the Sanyo Divisional Police Station in Ibadan.
Simiat said she received a call the next day asking her to come to the station.
Like many mothers visiting a detained child, she went there carrying food.
“When I got to the station, I went with food for my son, but they did not allow me to give it to him. After some time, they brought him out of the cell and I spoke with him,” she said.
During that brief encounter, Al-Amin maintained his innocence over another allegation that had entered the dispute that he damaged a mobile phone belonging to Kazeem.
“He told me that he did not touch the phone, let alone spoil it. He said the only money he owed Kazeem was N8,000 and that he went to retrieve his phone after it had been seized, which led to the struggle,” she added.
‘They said they would jail him’
What Simiat expected would be resolved as a dispute between two young men allegedly took a more serious turn.
She claimed that the Investigating Police Officer, identified as Adekeye, insisted that Al-Amin would be prosecuted despite the family’s appeals for a settlement.
According to her, the family was asked to provide N100,000 for bail and another N70,000 for the damaged phone.
“When Kazeem came to the station, I pleaded with him that we should settle the matter. I also pleaded with the DCO, but he later sent me out of his office.
“The IPO, Adekeye, also said she would ensure that my son was jailed. There was even a police officer pleading on our behalf,” she alleged.
The deceased’s father, Habeeb, gave a similar account.
He alleged that the matter was escalated because the complainant’s father was known to the Divisional Crime Officer.
“When I got there, I begged the DCO that the matter could be settled amicably. But because the father of the complainant was his friend, he said he would deal with my son and send him to prison,” he stated.
The family further alleged that Al-Amin complained of harsh treatment while in detention and said he was pressured to admit that he damaged the phone.
Saturday PUNCH could not independently verify those allegations.
From police cell to prison
On September 10, the family said Al-Amin was taken to court in the Mapo area of Ibadan.
His mother claimed nobody informed the family beforehand.
They only learnt that he had been taken to court after receiving a telephone call.
At the court, the family encountered a lawyer identified as Boluwatife, who, according to Simiat, offered to represent Al-Amin free of charge after hearing about the case.
The court granted him bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.
But freedom did not come immediately.
Pending the perfection of his bail conditions, Al-Amin was taken to the Agodi Custodial Centre.
For four days, his parents worked to secure his release.
Eventually, Simiat and Habeeb stood as sureties, and their son walked out of custody on September 14.
Police deny charging Oyo student over ₦8,000
Meanwhile, Oyo State Police Command has disputed the account surrounding the arrest and prosecution of a student, Al-Amin Mohammed, who later died by suicide, saying he was not arrested or charged to court over an outstanding ₦8,000 debt.
The Command said Mohammed was charged with assault and malicious damage after allegedly assaulting a female Point-of-Sale operator and damaging her Airtel SIM registration machine valued at ₦177,000.
The police position differs from the account given by Mohammed’s family, which said he was arrested and taken to court following a dispute over an ₦8,000 debt owed to the POS operator.
In a statement on Saturday, the Command described a publication alleging that Mohammed was detained over the debt as “false, unfounded and misleading.”
“The Command wishes to categorically state that the narrative is false, unfounded and misleading, as it does not represent the circumstances of the case or the basis upon which the suspect was charged to court,” the statement said.
According to the police, investigation established that Mohammed approached the POS operator to collect ₦23,000 in cash, with the intention of transferring the same amount to her through a POS transaction.
“The complainant obliged and handed the suspect the said sum in cash. However, immediately after collecting the money, the suspect left the scene without effecting the intended transfer or returning the money.
“Following persistent efforts, the suspect eventually refunded ₦15,000, leaving an outstanding balance of ₦8,000, which he subsequently refused to pay. Consequently, the complainant took possession of the suspect’s mobile phone pending the refund of the outstanding ₦8,000,” the Command said. (PUNCH)
Officers of the Kogi police command have arrested Elijah Olorunsuwa, a lecturer with the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), over allegations of cybercrime in connection with WhatsApp messages on a road project in the state.
Olorunsuwa, a social commentator, was arrested on Wednesday at his residence in Ilorin, Kwara state capital, and taken to Kogi state.
He was later released on Wednesday evening and asked to return on Thursday.
Speaking with TheCable after his release, Olorunsuwa said around 5am on Wednesday, about eight police officers arrived at his residence in Ilorin to arrest him.
Olorunsuwa said he requested that the police officers should allow him to drive his own car and follow them to the nearest area command in Ilorin.
The lecturer said when they arrived at the area command in Ilorin, there were no police officers to attend to them. Afterwards, he decided to join the police officers in their van as they agreed to take him to the Kwara police command headquarters.
According to Olorunsuwa, the police officers reneged on the agreement and drove him to Kogi.
When the lecturer got to the police station in Kogi, he was shown a petition reportedly written against him by Jerry Omodara, security adviser to the Kogi state government.
THE PETITION
In the petition dated September 11 and addressed to the Kogi police commissioner, Omodara alleged that Olorunsuwa has “consistently made false allegation and publications” against the Kogi government using social media.
The security adviser said the lecturer’s recent social media post against the Kogi government was on the award of the Kabba-Oke-Offin-Olle-lluke road project.
Omodara said the Kogi government published advertisements in newspapers for the award of the reconstruction of the road.
The security adviser said after the newspaper publications, Olorunsuwa posted on social media that the road “project was not of the state government but World Bank sponsored and the state was to pay a counterpart fund”.
Omodara said Olorunsuwa’s post is “false, malicious and with the intention to deceive unsuspecting public and discredit the government of the day”.
“This does not go down well with the government as well as myself being from that area that have consistently reminded the government on the need to reconstruct the road,” the petition reads.
“It is therefore not acceptable to the government of the State and the people the road is supposed to serve.
“Consequently, Mr. Elijah Olounsuwa is to be apprehended and to be made to tender all documents available to him from or by the World Bank to back his claim, otherwise he is to be charged for cybercrime and prosecuted.”
THE WHATSAPP CONVERSATION
Olorunsuwa told TheCable that someone posted a message on the Oke Offin community WhatsApp group that the state government was reconstructing the Kabba-Oke-Offin-Olle-lluke road.
The lecturer said he commented that the road project is sponsored by the World Bank.
Olorunsuwa said that after his comment, Omodara replied to him and asked that the post should be deleted. He added that the state security adviser threatened that he should expect legal action if the WhatsApp post is not deleted.
The lecturer said he and Omodara hail from Oke Offin in Kabba/Bunu LGA of Kogi state.
“I told him that he should feel free to take me to court. I didn’t pull down the post,” the lecturer said.
“However, some elderly men on the platform reached out to me and appealed for the need to maintain peace and decorum.”
Olorunsuwa said that after the appeal from the elderly men, he deleted his WhatsApp comments and reached out to Omodara via the phone.
The lecturer said during the phone conversation with Omodara, the security adviser told him that Usman Ododo, governor of Kogi, had directed that he should be prosecuted over the post.
Olorunsuwa said he asked the security adviser if the Kogi governor was a member of the community WhatsApp group chat.
He said Omodara asked him to publish a retraction of his WhatsApp posts about the road project, adding that he refused to do so, which led to his arrest.
OMODARA REACTS
Reacting to the development, Omodara said Olorunsuwa published a “false claim” about the funding of the road project via WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
The security adviser told TheCable that he asked the lecturer to retract his post on the WhatsApp group since the road project is being funded by the Kogi state government.
Omodara said Olorunsuwa responded that he should be mourning his late cousin rather than clamouring for the withdrawal of the post.
He added that during a telephone conversation, he informed the lecturer that the road project was solely funded by the state government and not the World Bank, as he claimed.
The security adviser said Olorunsuwa refused to retract the social media post, which prompted the state government to petition the Kogi police commissioner. Cable
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