By JOHN NWOKOCHA, Abuja

A new twist has emerged in the leadership tussle rocking the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), with the police roping Justice Mary Odili (Rtd) and her then Secretary, Mrs Ogunseye Adebiyi, into a forgery charge at the resumed hearing of the case.

Commenting on the development, former APGA National Chairman and the 2023 Presidential Candidate of the party, Chief Chekwas Okorie, described it as “an abominable act in Nigerian jurisprudence”.

Okoie in a statement he issued yesterday, Tuesday, February 14, 2023, also expressed dismay at the level the Supreme Court has been allowed to be ‘compromised’ in the matters relating to the tussles within APGA.

He alleged that the nation’s apex court has been dragged to an unprecedented ridicule because of a mad ambition to control the soul of APGA at all cost.

Hear him: “The mad ambition to control the soul of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) at all cost has led Chief Victor Oye and his sponsors to induce the Nigeria Police to throw all cautions over board to drag the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the apex court of the land to an unprecedented opprobrium and disgrace”.

The APGA Founder said that the Supreme Court of Nigeria has been embattled in recent times on multiple allegations of corruption.

He accused the police of hastily indicting Justice Mary Odili's secretary in a forgery charge.

Hear him: “On the resumption of hearing on the adjourned date, the Police amended its charges against the defendants to now include Mrs Ogunseye Adebiyi who was Secretary to Justice Mary Odili at the material time as an accused person and Hon. Justice Mary Odili (retired) and Hajo Sarki Bello, the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court as witnesses. "The Police in its amended charges unashamedly alleged that it was Mrs Adebiyi that forged the judgment at the behest of her boss, Hon. Justice Mary Peter-Odili (retired).

“This summersault by the Police effectively transferred the offence of forgery from their earlier victim Chief Njoku to a new victim Mrs Adebiyi.

“This is a new twist and an abominable act in Nigerian jurisprudence where the presiding Justice of the Supreme Court, the Chief Registrar and a staff of the Court will be dragged to a trial court on a ‘criminal’ charge for merely carrying out their statutory function as Judicial Officer and staff of the Supreme Court of Nigeria”.

Read the full statement:

APGA: ABOMINATION IN THE JUDICIARY

The mad ambition to control the soul of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) at all cost has led Chief Victor Oye and his sponsors to induce the Nigeria Police to throw all cautions over board to drag the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the apex court of the land to an unprecedented opprobrium and disgrace.

It will be recalled that the Supreme Court in its judgment on 14th October 2021, in Appeal No. SC/CV/687/2021, erroneously based on the slip of pen and tongue referred to Chief Victor Oye as the National Chairman of APGA. This unfortunate error was brought to the attention of the Panel that delivered a unanimous judgment on the matter. On 6th May 2022, Chief Edozie Njoku drew the attention of the Panel to the error. On 9th May 2022, this error was duly corrected, especially on page 13 of the judgment where the name of Chief Edozie Njoku, the authentic National Chairman of APGA was duly reflected. Surprisingly, Chief Victor Oye whose name was appropriately substituted with that of Edozie Njoku wrote a petition to the Inspector General of Police alleging that Chief Edozie Njoku forged the judgment of the Supreme Court. It was shocking that the Nigeria Police in its investigation deliberately refused to follow the proper procedure of verifying the authenticity of the judgment from Hon. Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili (retired), who wrote and delivered the lead judgment and later made the correction or from the remaining four Justices who delivered their concurrent judgments as well. The Police did not also interrogate the Senior Executive Bailiff of the Supreme Court, Mr Paul Bawa Ajiake, who served the lead judgment, four concurrent judgments and an enrolled order of the court on all the parties in the Suit including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and swore to an affidavit of service to validate his action. Instead the Police relied on a surreptitious letter written to it by Hajo Sarki Bello, the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, to charge Chief Edozie Njoku, the National Chairman of APGA and Chukwuemeka Nwoga, the National Youth Leader of APGA for forgery.

This irregular action of the Police landed Chief Njoku and Mr Nwoga in an unwarranted and unfair incarceration at the Suleja Correctional Centre. Two days after, Chief Njoku and Mr Nwoga were granted bail by the Federal Capital Territory High Court at Bwari and the matter was adjourned to 14th February, 2023.

On the resumption of hearing on the adjourned date, the Police amended its charges against the defendants to now include Mrs Ogunseye Adebiyi who was Secretary to Justice Mary Odili at the material time as an accused person and Hon. Justice Mary Odili (retired) and Hajo Sarki Bello, the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court as witnesses. The Police in its amended charges unashamedly alleged that it was Mrs Adebiyi that forged the judgment at the behest of her boss, Hon. Justice Mary Peter-Odili (retired).

This summersault by the Police effectively transferred the offence of forgery from their earlier victim Chief Njoku to a new victim Mrs Adebiyi.

This is a new twist and an abominable act in Nigerian jurisprudence where the presiding Justice of the Supreme Court, the Chief Registrar and a staff of the Court will be dragged to a trial court on a "criminal" charge for merely carrying out their statutory function as Judicial Officer and staff of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has been embattled in recent times on multiple allegations including the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC) that referred to it as one of the most corrupt institutions in Nigeria. But what the Police is reducing the Supreme Court to in this APGA controversial case is unprecedented. It poses the danger of destroying the Nigerian Judiciary.

We therefore call on the leadership of the Supreme Court to protect itself. We call on the Nigerian Judicial Council (NJC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to rise to the occasion and save our Judiciary from destruction by the inordinately ambitious politicians who have access to State Treasury and use same to bring Nigeria to local and international ridicule.

Update news