By CHARLES IWUOHA

A chief Magistrate’s Court in Umuahia, Abia State on Thursday jailed the immediate past Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Uche Ogah, for forgery, following a criminal complaint brought by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Abia State chapter of APC had instituted a complaint that Ogah did not participate in the governorship primary election of the party conducted on May 26, 2022 but went ahead and forged the party’s direct primary election result sheet “with intent that it may be acted on as genuine”.

The complainant stated that the forgery perpetrated by Ogah was prejudicial to the party and its “authentic governorship flag bearer in Abia State (High Chief Ikechi Emenike) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 465 of the Criminal Code (as applicable in Abia) and punishable under Section 467”.

Given ruling on the suit No. UMSC/362/2022, Magistrate Ngozi N. Nwangwa held that the defendant/respondent “is guilty as charged”, adding that: “I’m convinced that the defendant has no defence”.

“I hereby commit Dr. Uche Ogah for the offence as charged,” the magistrate said.

Since the defendant was not in court, the magistrate ordered security agencies to arrest him anywhere he is found and keep him in the nearest correctional centre pending the day he would be brought to court for sentencing.

Ogah had failed to appear before the court since November when the matter came up for hearing and he also did not send any counsel to represent him.

When the matter came up for hearing on Thursday, the magistrate stated that she had been served a copy of the petition written by Ogah to both the Chief Judge and and the Attorney General alleging “bias and compromise”.

But the lead counsel of APC, Mr. Vigilus Nwankwo, submitted that the said petition was the unusual antics adopted by those wanting to evade justice, adding that the outcome could not stay proceedings based on the petition.

Citing Order 40 Rule 6(1) of the Abia State Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2007, Nwankwo noted that what the defendant did was an administrative step and not a formal application before the court for stay of proceedings.

The APC counsel further cited Section 305 of the Abia Criminal Justice Law, which stipulates that application for stay of proceedings in respect of any criminal case “shall not be entertained”.

Having found merit in the submissions of the counsel to the complainant/applicant, the magistrate granted the request for the prosecution to continue with the proceedings.

The sole prosecution witness, Chief Chidi Avajah, who is the state secretary of Abia APC, was led in evidence to adopt his written depositions dated November 30, 2023, in respect of the criminal case.

The depositions admitted as exhibit by the court also contained affidavits deposed by both the chairman and secretary of the APC governorship primary election panel for Abia, Chief Tony Obiefuna and Mr. Chukwudi Kanu respectively, stating that their signatures were forged by the respondent, Ogah.

Since the respondent failed to open his defence on the charges against him, the prosecution after making its submissions closed its case and urged the court “to accept the documentary evidence, rely on them and act on them”.

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