‘Moves By Lagos AG To Withdraw Charge Against Suspected Land Grabber Ploy To Deny Me Justice' — Businessman

LAWAL PEDRO, SAN 

A Lagos-based businessman, Hassan Alli, has declared that attempts by the Lagos State Attorney-General, AG, and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, SAN, to withdraw a criminal charge instituted by his office against one Moroof Owonla, also known as Kaka Moroof over alleged felony and malicious damages, is nothing but a ploy to deny him justice.

The Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions, DPP, had dragged Owonla together with two others before the High Court of Lagos State, Ikeja, presided over by Justice Adenike Coker over the allegation of land-grabbing.

Specifically, the DPP instituted an eight-count charge against Owonla and his co-defendants, Olu-Aminu Yemisi Abdulaziz and Ganiyu Amin, over alleged conspiracy to commit a felony.

Owonla and others were alleged to have forcefully entered into a landed property situated at No 34, Faguson Osagie Street, Ayobo, Lagos, carting away building materials valued at N30 million.

However, the suspected land grabber, alongside other accused persons, failed to appear before the court to take their plea after several adjournments.

This made the Justice Coker-led court to issue a bench warrant for their arrest on April 25, 2024.

Meanwhile, in a twist of events, the Director of Public Prosecution, Jide Martins, who had earlier issued legal advice indicting and recommending the defendants for trial, filed a notice of discontinuance of the case on behalf of the AG.

In the notice of discontinuance copied to the Inspector General of Police, IGP, and the court, Martins revealed that the decision to withdraw the charge against the defendants was based on fresh facts that were discovered recently in the case.

In its letter dated May 21, 2024, addressed to the IGP, Force C.I.D. Admin Team 6, Abuja, and signed on behalf of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, the Lagos State Ministry of Justice maintained that it arrived at its decision to charge Owonla based on wrong information.

The letter stated: “From the foregoing, the only legal conclusion is that the defendant has a valid right of claim on the land by virtue of a judgment and execution of the same, which have not been set aside. 

“Therefore, the defendants have no case to answer for any alleged occupation of the land at any time after the judgment and execution.”

But Alli, while frowning at the move to discontinue the case, claimed that Pedro, SAN, was a lawyer to Owonla before he became the AG of the state.

The businessman further claimed that the development demonstrated the alleged bias of the AG in the matter because the immediate past AG, Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN, during his tenure, approved the trial of the defendants after the Office of the DPP reviewed the report of the police and other supporting facts. 

The complainant, while buttressing his position on the alleged bias, stated that "Rather than present the defendants in court, the new Attorney-General initiated a meeting which he tagged 'Restorative Justice Meeting' as against the arraignment of Owonla and his co-defendants before the court.

“The ugly outcome of the meeting was that Owonla had not committed any offence. 

"I am indeed shocked to know that the judiciary has become so weak and predictable by non-state actors like Moroof Owonla, who continue to perpetrate criminality and boast of his connections with people in authority, which is not healthy for Nigeria's judicial system and the justice sector.

"I demand justice from all government agencies, all authorities in Nigeria, all well-meaning Nigerians who are in one way or the other affiliated to the justice delivery system in Nigeria, including the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Lagos State House of Assembly Justice Committee, Federal House of Representatives, Senate Committee on Justice, National Judicial Commission, NJC, Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC, and the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA.

"I seek the intervention of all lovers of Justice to wade into this case to avert injustice kindly being meted out on me by the improper discontinuance of the criminal infraction occasioned against my person by Moroof Owonla, who is boasting of his strong connection with the Attorney General of Lagos State. 

"If this type of evil and injustice is allowed to have its way with me, it could also be the turn of any law-abiding citizens of Nigeria tomorrow.”

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