… dismisses all charges against Justice Ademola
Justice Jude Okeke of a Federal Capital Territory high court has warned government run security agencies to desist from filing suspicious and speculative suits, before Nigerian courts.
Justice Okeke gave this stern warning after dismissing all the 17 count charge leveled against Justice Adeniyi Ademola, his wife and Joe Agi SAN, averring that such suits were tantamount to misleading ordinary Nigerians, urging the security agencies to conduct comprehensive investigations, before filing suits before the court.
The trial court, did however, dismissed all the allegations and charges leveled against the trio, on the grounds that the prosecution failed to establish any prima facie case against all the defendants.
Count 1 and 2, which bothered on conspiracy by the trio to induce Justice Ademola in the discharge of his duty as a Federal High Court Judge, was dismissed on the grounds it was only the 2nd and 3rd defendants (Ademola’s wife and Agi), that could induce him, as against what the charge read.
Delivering his ruling on the application for a “no case submission” by the defendants, Justice Okeke also discharged and struck out all the charges against the Ademola’s wife in counts 3, 4, 5 on the grounds that the prosecution failed to provide any facts before it, to prove the allegations.
On the allegations of offering a BMW saloon 303i to Ademide Ademola, Ademola’s son as gratification for the 1st defendant, the court dismissed the charge, stating that the prosecution could not prove before it that, the car allegedly bought for Ademide, was particularly meant for Justice Ademola himself.
As far as the allegations on the cash in diverse currencies found in his house, the court held that the Department of State Service (DSS), operative who testified against the defendants did informed the court that no one complained about any missing money.
The court further held that there is no such evidence that the monies mentioned before the court, were recovered as part of an illegal transaction, just as another prosecuting witness had also told the court that Federal High Court Judges are entitled to estacodes which are paid to them in Dollars.
The court further held that, the allegations that the sum of N90million and N75million allegedly transferred to the account of Don Parker properties could not be proved by the prosecution, because one of its witness even testified before the court, affirming that by evidence of Justice Ademola’s emoluments, the monies spent could not have been from illegitimate sources.
Justice Ademola was also discharged of the allegation of demanding for bribe from Sani Teidi, who was standing trial before him for his bail bond to be signed.
The trial court held that, even with Teidi’s wife testimony before it on how they were being harassed by phone calls to pay an alleged sum, the prosecution never showed nor could prove how Justice Ademola was personally involved in the demand for the bribe.
The Federal High Court Judge was also absolved of allegations bothering on illegal possession of fire arms without license, on the grounds that Justice Ademola had informed the DSS during interrogation that, he was one of the Judges, premised on advise by a team from the British council and DSS, for some Judges handling terrorism and financial crimes related cases, to get firearms for their protection.
Justice Ademola was said to have produced the expired license for the gun in his possession, after he was asked for it at the office of the DSS and not during the raid on his house, to which he promised to produce the renewed license, which he eventually did.
Justice Ademola, his wife Olubowale, the Head of Service of Lagos state, and Agi SAN were arraigned in December 2016 for alleged fraud.
They are accused of conspiring to collect gratification from a company belonging to Agi to the tune of N30 million, in March 2015.
