 |
| Ademola Adetokunbo Owolabi |
A Lagos State High Court has dismissed a judicial review suit filed by a lawyer, Ademola Adetokunbo Owolabi, challenging the legal advice recommending his criminal prosecution for an alleged land fraud.
The court, presided over by Justice Olalekan A. Oresanya, ruled on April 28, 2026, that the court cannot question the Attorney General’s discretionary power to prosecute under Section 211 of the 1999 Constitution.
The decision clears the path for the ongoing criminal trial of Owolabi and two co-defendants before Justice S.I. Sonaike at the Lagos High Court, TBS.
Owolabi, Managing Partner of Ademola Adetokunbo & Co., is standing trial alongside Alex Ochonogor, Managing Director of Bluecrest Integrated Concept Ltd., and Adebayo Akeju, principal of Adon Partners.
The Lagos State government filed five counts against the trio in suit LD/23611C/2024, including conspiracy to commit forgery, forgery, and wilful property damage.
The prosecution alleged that in 2015, the defendants forged an affidavit of loss of Certificate of Occupancy, a demolition notice, and a memorandum of loss to falsely claim that the original C of O No. 36/36/1994W issued to Major Hamza Al-Mustapha was missing.
They are further accused of wilfully destroying a bungalow on Plot 10, Block 133, Lekki Peninsula Residential Scheme 1, Lagos, belonging to Dr Obidigwe Eze.
According to police investigation, the property was said to have been sold to Dr Eze by USP Communications Limited in 2005 after passing through Continental Properties and Major Al-Mustapha.
The defendants allegedly used forged documents to claim the land for Ochonogor.
After the Director of Public Prosecutions issued legal advice on January 3 and January 18, 2024, recommending prosecution, Owolabi filed a suit before Justice Oresanya.
He argued the advice was “vindictive, oppressive and injurious,” claiming police only invited him as a witness and never listed him as a suspect.
He told the court he acted as solicitor for Ochonogor in 2015, conducted due diligence, and found a registered Memorandum of Loss in Al-Mustapha’s name, adding that his client then purchased the property for N85 million.
Owolabi contended that supplementary legal advice removed Al-Mustapha’s name but retained his without fresh investigation.
The Lagos Attorney General, through former DPP Dr Babajide Martins, argued the AG is not bound by police reports and has independent constitutional authority to decide whom to prosecute.
Justice Oresanya agreed, holding that judicial review examines legality, not the merits, of decisions taken within lawful authority.
Citing Akpa v. State, the court held that the AG is under no obligation to prosecute every person connected to an offence or explain selective prosecution.
The judge noted that the criminal case is already pending before Justice Sonaike, adding that allowing another court to void the DPP’s advice would interfere with a matter of coordinate jurisdiction and create confusion and anarchy.
Issues of indictment and evidence, he said, must be tested at trial, not through judicial review.
Describing Owolabi’s application as “misconceived and bereft of fact,” Justice Oresanya dismissed it in its entirety, affirming that any challenge should be raised before the trial court.
All rights reserved. The content on this website, including text and other digital materials, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in part without the express written consent of The News Accelerator Network.
For advertising inquiries, news coverage, or press releases, please get in touch with us at
📧 thenewsacceleratornetwork@gmail.com
📞 08051017159
Kindly follow us on: https://www.facebook.com/thenewsaccelerator
You can also subscribe to our YouTube channels here:ucvelrc3winkz7tdmhmzarmqhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/sub_confirmation=1
إرسال تعليق