The Federal Government has dragged the Leadership Newspapers, its News Editor, Mr. Tony Amokeodo, and a political reporter, Chibuzor Ukaibe, to court over alleged forgery.
They were brought before Justice Adeniyi Ademola of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday over a 10-count charge bordering on forgery of a document titled “Bromide of The Presidential Directive” which they published in their newspaper on April 3.
On Monday, Amokeodo and Ukaibe, first detained for about two days on April 8, were re-arrested when they reported at the police station in compliance with Police bail condition.
According to the charge brought against them on Tuesday, the accused were alleged to have conspired with another reporter, Taiwo Omilani, said to be at large, to forge the document and thereby committed an offence and punishable under section 467 of the Criminal Code Act Cap C 38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
However, before their plea could be taken, Amokeodo, who is listed as the first accused in the charge, told the trial judge, Justice Ademola, that he and his colleague were detained on Monday and were driven to court Tuesday morning from detention without any information on the charge brought against them.
The prosecutor, Mr. Joe Nwadike, had informed the court that the police re-arrested the journalists whom he alleged had jumped bail having failed to keep to the terms of the administrative bail they were granted.
He said that it took the effort of a combined team of investigators and security operatives to effect their arrest Monday night.
Nwadike also told the court that the accused persons’ lawyer had been served with copies of the charge and the notice of their arraignment.
The journalists’ plea was however not taken upon the discovery by the court that the company, Leadership Group Limited, the third accused in the charge, had not been served.
Consequently, the court directed that the company be served to compel the appearance of a director of the company to represent it.
Nwadike requested for an adjournment to enable the police effect service on the company and thereafter asked the court to order the detention of the journalists pending their arraignment and plea taking.
However, Mr. Samuel Ogala from Mr. Femi Falana’s chambers who represented the journalists opposed this submission and pleaded with the court to grant the accused persons conditional release pending their formal arraignment and plea taking.
Justice Ademola however refused Nwadike’s request and released the journalists to Mr. Umar Jibril, a lawyer and company secretary to Leadership Newspapers and adjourned till April 24 for their arraignment.
Meanwhile, Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has condemned the re-arrest on April 15 of Amokeodo and Ukaibe of Leadership newspaper, describing the action as systematic and unwarranted harassment.
It called for the immediate and unconditional release of the journalists, saying it had issued a global alert on the matter through the mechanism of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) to call international attention to the situation of the journalists whom it said were simply being harassed for exposing the government’s political machinations.
MRA’s Deputy Executive Director, Ms Jennifer Onyejekwe, described the action of the Police as “sheer abuse of power”
“The police know that they have no power to hold the journalists for more than 24 hours without a court order. They have therefore resorted to undermining the Constitution by detaining them, releasing them and again detaining them.
“This is sheer abuse of power and we are calling on the global freedom of expression community to condemn this high-handedness on the part of the Nigerian Government and its law enforcement agencies,” she said.
Onyejekwe added that “It was clear from the circumstance that the Police had no evidence of wrongdoing against the journalists and had resorted to a strategy of harassment and intimidation to frustrate the journalists and prevent them from carrying out their professional duties.”
The 10-count charge against LEADERSHIP reads:
Count 1: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: forging of document titled BROMIDE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE and place same on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, knowing it to be false and with the intent that it may in any way be used or acted upon as genuine and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 516 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 2: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did forged a document titled BROMIDE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE and place same on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, knowing it to be false and with the intent that it may in any way be used or acted upon as genuine and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 467 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 3: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: knowingly and fraudulently uttering a false document titled BROMIDE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE and place same on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, for the use/consumption of the general public and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 516 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 4: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did knowingly and fraudulently utter a false document titled BROMIDE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE and place same on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, for the use/consumption of the general public and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 468 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 5: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: forging/making a false document and placed same on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, having on it the seal, signet or sign manual which purports that it is from the president of the federal republic of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 516 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 6: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did forge/make a false document and placed same on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, having on it the seal, signet or sign manual which purports that it is from the president of the federal republic of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 467 (1)(b) of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 7: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: making a false document on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, having on it the seal, signet or sign manual which said forged document purports to be the signature of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria as presidential directive and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 516 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 8: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did make a false document on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, having on it the seal, signet or sign manual which said forged document purports to be the signature of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria as presidential directive and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 467(3)(a) of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 9: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: knowingly and fraudulently forge a document titled bromide of the presidential directive on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013 and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 516 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 10: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did knowingly and fraudulently forge a document titled bromide of the presidential directive on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013 purporting to be the seal of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria as presidential directive and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 468 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004.”
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