By Okpo Ewa Edmund Esq.
Ordinarily, one would mistake Americans for the most gullible people in the world until some Nigerians lay or not express themselves online on matters of law and justice. The blunder is always more than the word 'blunder' can describe.
A recklessly scandalous prejudice without remedy! And such has been the bane of our newly found branch of law known as "Media Trials".
These are usually politically orchestrated criminal allegations leveled against perceived enemies or targets of the state to publicly discredit them, disgrace them and silent them while keeping the masses distracted by it from the real core of state administration.
Incidentally, the Federal Government has since the days of President Olusegun Obasanjo invented a perfect instrument nay hatchet agency for the job in the name of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a supposed anti graft agency whose only suspects are those citizens perceived as formidable enemies of the state for merely disagreeing with the state.
Once, a target is identified the hatchet boys pronto swing into action of arrest, molestation, property seizures, account freezes and many more moves that will render the person economically, psychologically and emotionally stranded and despaired while they parade them on the media for all sorts of name callings from the trigger happy masses who know little or nothing about the entire case.
Even those who should know better in this circumstances are either drowned by the sea of ignorant and prejudiced masses or are themselves jaundiced by unwholesome interests.
One of such cases was the18-counts gratification and illegal possession of firearms charge filed against Justice Adeniyi Ademola, his wife Olabowale and Joe Agi (SAN) by the Federal Government. As usual, the gullible masses jumped into the media court where they assailed, violated, prosecuted and convicted the trio for crimes they only can imagine.
Unfortunately, no member of these media critics ever attempted a follow up on the case by going to court to verify the allegations leveled against their state preys.
Like in this case the EFCC whose patent incompetence in diligent prosecution of cases being only second to themselves have once again registered another victory of legal justice over media trials as the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja having suffered enough torment of failed prosecution had no choice than to discharge and acquit Justice Adeniyi Ademola, his wife Olabowale and Joe Agi (SAN) of the charges trumped up against them.
However, it is pertinent to briefly summarize the court room narrative that led to this judgment before some people in their characteristic irrectitude move to slander the courts to the relish of their ever ready gullible audience.
The charges against the learned justice was that he had collected monies from people to influence his judgement in suits before him, that he had used his "possible" closeness with Sen.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu to influence the appointment of his wife as Head of Service in Lagos State and that he was in illegal possession of fire arms and of course guilty of the recent sin of keeping cash handy at home.
In court, however, it was revealed that his wife was the most senior civil servant in Lagos state as at the time of her appointment thereby being an appointment by merit.
In fact, one of the prosecution witnesses an operative of the State Security Service (SSS) Mr. Babatunde Adepoju, during cross-examination, however, said the allegations of influencing the appointment of Mrs. Ademola, made against her husband was a verbal brief given to him by his superior; adding that as an investigative officer, he has the discretion to either accept the brief or refuse it, based on evidence at his disposal which he admitted before the court that there was no such evidence.
It was also discovered that the two rifles found in his house belonged to himself and another judge (justice M. Muhammed) and are dully licensed by relevant authorities in this case the presidency but according to the prosecutors they got the license late that was why they still proceeded with the charge.
What an excuse!
Now on the charges of bribery, Mr. Adepoju (The SSS officer designated to investigate the allegations) stated that a set of payments were made in three tranches to the account of Mrs. Ademola shortly before certain court orders were made by Mr. Ademola, in a case involving a client of Mr. Joe Agi.
“In my further investigation on the connection between Mrs. Ademola and Agi, I tried to establish if Barr. Agi had cases pending or concluded before Justice Ademola and I discovered that they actually had cases in court,” he said.
“Two among the cases that raised eyebrows were of AMCON vs. FRN and Friday Ukpong vs. Chief of Naval Staff. These two cases involved huge sums of money.
“Both cases emanated from Calabar, Cross-River State, Justice Ademola’s previous posting. In the AMCON case, three garnishee orders were granted by Justice Ademola in favour of Joe Agi’s client, which is Linas International Limited”.
Now, for those of us who do not understand the term "garnishee order" it is an order of court issued against a person whom the court have in an earlier suit adjudged to be in debt of another party but has refused to pay the debt.
So the court in execution of the earlier judgement at the instance of the creditor orders that the debtors account be frozen and the debt settled from it.
It is a natural and very simple process. If one did not bribe the court to give judgement in his favour in the first place how can one then bribe the court to execute their own judgement? What a slander!
Speaking further, Mr. Adepoju explained how his department arrived at the allegation that Mr. Agi had paid N30 million into the account of Mr. Ademola to influence a judgement which according to him was paid by two maritime businessmen, Ken Hubert and Bassey Bassey. In his words, the men paid the sum of $150, 000 which was later converted to Naira by Mr. Agi to the tune of N37 million.
But on cross examination he suddenly could not provide a link between the first defendant and any case in court involving the maritime businessmen, Messrs. Hubert and Bassey, who he had said paid $150, 000 to Mrs. Ademola’s account. In fact, Mr. Adepoju actually answered in the negative when asked if there was a link between the case involving Friday Ukpong and the maritime businessmen.
Reading through a document provided by the defence counsel, Mr. Adepoju confirmed that the money was paid by the businessmen, shortly before a wedding of Mr. Ademola’s daughter.
Now the question is "so a Head of Service in a largely maritime state like Lagos cannot get supports for her daughter's wedding (knowing how Yoruba's celebrate their children's weddings) from maritime business men she had assisted in the past merely because her husband is a judge whose ruling does not please the government meanwhile the secretary to the federal government is busy awarding contracts to himself and syphoning the contract sum without performing the contract and EFCC is doing nothing about that neither the president?"
Incidentally or as God would have it Mr. Adepoju also admitted before the Court that in the course of his investigation, he discovered the payment of N500, 000 made by Kola Awodehin- one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s lawyers in support of Justice Ademola’s family during the same wedding ceremony of their daughter and these payment was made at a time Buhari’s certificate saga was pending before Justice Ademola.
“By giving a wedding gift to Ademola, was President Buhari bribing Justice Ademola in order to win the certificate suit pending before him?" Joe Agi’s counsel, Jeph Ejinkoye asked him and his final answer was "No."
So President Buhari's lawyer who has a Buhari's case before a judge can support the family of the judge during their daughter's wedding but if another person does so it is a bribe?
Eventually, This same witness and investigating officer told the court that there could not have been any correlation between the lodgements and the case as their dates were far separated from each other. So why still use them to charge a good and innocent man of crimes he never committed?
The answer to this question probably lies in the fact that these charges came up immediately after the learned judge granted bail to Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Colonel Sambo Dasuki against the disposition of the Presidency.
So they cooked up 18 whole charges against him including the charge that he accepted bribe to influence his granting them bail on very bailable offenses.
But again, when cross examined whether he found any available evidence incriminating Mr. Ademola with allegations of bribery in Messrs. Dasuki and Kanu’s cases, the witness answered in the negative.
This whole narrative in deed has shown how desperate our government can be when it wants to teach some people a life lesson for daring it.
And their ready accomplice in this social crime against the citizens is the citizens themselves through Mass Trials especially the ones conducted on Facebook, Whats'App, Black Berry Chat Groups and Channels, Instagram, Twitter, Blogs and all other online platforms. The print media is a whole different kettle of fish as well.
But having attacked and harassed the learned justices person, career and family this far only to discover it was just another expensive government ruse who then shall we hold responsible? How can these abused citizens be compensated? How can Nigerians be compensated also knowing that our government is using public funds to witch hunt innocent citizens and deceiving us into aiding and abetting them in it? Now this is not forgetting the fact that these victims when vindicated have the right to sue the government for damages and again the remnants of our already mismanaged mean resources are threatened!
Perhaps, it is high time we review our media trial indulgences. Today it is justice Ademola, his wife and a senior advocate of Nigeria tomorrow it may be one of us. If the judiciary and lawyers can be so bullied, blackmailed and set up by the federal government where then lies the hope of the common man.
How many lawyers will have the guts to fight for our rights as enshrined in the constitution? How many judges will have the boldness to protect it? We have seen what can happen to judges and lawyers and elder statesmen and British Nigerian citizens who are unlucky or bold enough to go the way the government does not approve.
What we seem to fail to see is what can happen to us when eventually we find ourselves in that position some day. Until then all I can do is to wish us all Godspeed.
Okpo Ewa Edmund II is a lawyer, arbitrator, literati who specializes in human, political and web rights. Presently serving as Supervisor for tourism, Ethical Re-orientation and Dakkada Initiative at Okobo.
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