• Home
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
  • National
    • Government
  • Security
  • Features
  • State
  • Event
    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Search
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
PRNIGERIA PRNigeria News
PRNIGERIA PRNIGERIA
  • Home
  • Anti-Corruption
    • Chinese nationals jailed in Lagos

      Court Jails Nine Chinese Nationals for Cybercrime in Lagos

      ASUU

      Tackle Corruption, Institutional Decay – ASUU Charges FG

      EFCC Arraigns Bauchi Accountant General Over N8bn Fraud as Court Sentences…

      PRNigeria logo fearured image

      EFCC Arraigns Ex-Convict, Other for Naira Abuse in Lagos

      EFCC Arrests 37 Suspected Internet Fraudsters in Ilorin

  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
    • Comptroller General Nigerian Customs Bashir Adewale

      Nigeria Customs, ICPC and the Audit of Conscience

      Customs Diplomacy: Nigeria, Saudi Arabia Ink Mutual Assistance Deal

      Comptroller General Nigerian Customs Bashir Adewale

      Nigeria, Belarus Forge Alliance to Combat Smuggling, Facilitate Trade

      President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and CG Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi

      Tinubu Hails Customs Boss Wale Adeniyi on Historic Election as WCO…

      WTO Lauds Nigeria Customs for Embracing Global Trade Standards

  • National
    • Ribadu Proposes Reintegration of Military Veterans to Bolster National Security

      DICON signs MoU with Saudi firm

      DICON, Saudi firm sign MoU to produce security drones, satellites in…

      Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya

      Ex-COAS Urges Reforms in Recruitment, Training of Army, Harps on Prioritisation…

      Prioritise Troops’ Welfare, Mission Over Personal Gain – COAS Charges Army…

      Nigeria’s Growth Numbers Tell Only Half the Story By Umar Farouk…

    • Government
      • Corporate Affairs Commission

        CAC Unveils AI-Powered Registration Portal to Revolutionize Business Registration in Nigeria

        Employment: ICPC Secures Conviction of FAAN Staff

        Staff of PRNigeria with federal lawmakers

        Federal Lawmakers Endorse PRNigeria Fellowship, Pledge Support for Youth Empowerment

        G7 Countries

        Iran Must Never Possess Nuclear Weapons – G7 Declare

        Nigerian Dignitaries, Business Leaders Attend Aminu Dantata’s Burial in Madinah Saudi…

  • Security
    • Ribadu Proposes Reintegration of Military Veterans to Bolster National Security

      DICON signs MoU with Saudi firm

      DICON, Saudi firm sign MoU to produce security drones, satellites in…

      Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya

      Ex-COAS Urges Reforms in Recruitment, Training of Army, Harps on Prioritisation…

      Prioritise Troops’ Welfare, Mission Over Personal Gain – COAS Charges Army…

      Customs Hands Over N172m Worth of Cannabis to NDLEA in Ogun,…

  • Features
    • Nigeria’s Growth Numbers Tell Only Half the Story By Umar Farouk…

      NYSC Corps Members in Camp

      The Burden Too Many Nigerian Youths Bear Alone

      Combating Deepfake Videos: A Fight for Nigeria’s Soul By Mukhtar Ya’u…

      Domestic Violence

      Marriage and the Silent Wounds Within Homes By Hafsat Ibrahim

      FutureMap Foundation Sparks Innovation with Design Thinking in Nigeria

  • State
    • Customs Hands Over N172m Worth of Cannabis to NDLEA in Ogun,…

      Combating Deepfake Videos: A Fight for Nigeria’s Soul By Mukhtar Ya’u…

      IEDs found at the bridge

      Military Foils Terrorists’ Bomb Attack, Discovers 56 IEDs on Marte–Dikwa Bridge…

      Suspected Gunrunner

      Plateau: Troops Nab Suspected Gunrunner, Recover AK-47, Ammunition in Plateau

      Troops Neutralise Scores of Militias in Plateau

  • Event
    • President & Chairman of Governing Council, Dr. Ike Neliaku

      NIPR Lauds Nigerian PR Firms for Outstanding Performances at 2025 SABRE…

      SCN NGO signs partnership with PRNIGERIA

      SCN NGO Seals Partnership with PRNigeria to Amplify its Humanitarian Projects

      NELFUND

      NELFUND Warns Students Against Fake Loan Application Portal

      EFCC Witness: Yahaya Bello Had No Property Dealings With EFAB

      Hon. Rukayat Motunrayo Shittu (RMS), with PRNigeria Ladies in PR I'm Abuja

      Rukayat Shittu Set to Publish Inspirational Book “Cracking the Glass Ceiling”,…

    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Home Anti-Corruption Full Detail: How Court clears Justice Ademola, wife… Buhari’s Lawyer Provides Wedding...
  • Anti-Corruption
  • National

Full Detail: How Court clears Justice Ademola, wife… Buhari’s Lawyer Provides Wedding Gift too

By
Prnigeria
-
April 5, 2017
Justice Adeniyi Ademola
Justice Adeniyi Ademola

Justice Adeniyi Ademola
Justice Adeniyi Ademola

… Justice Ademola has approved licences for guns

… Buhari’s Lawyer Provides Wedding Gift to Ademola’s Family

A FCT High Court in Maitama, has dismissed the 18-count criminal charges brought by the Federal Government against Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, his wife, Mrs. Tolulope Olabowale, and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Joe Agi.

The three defendants were discharged and acquitted from the criminal charges on the ground that the prosecution did not prove a prima facie case against them.

Justice Jude Okeke, in a ruling on the no-case submission made by the defendants, held that the criminal charges against them were highly speculative and without iota of merit.

The judge, who reviewed the 18-counts, one after the other, said that the conspiracy charge in count one was not established against Justice Ademola, his wife and the senior lawyer, who was charged along with the couple.

Contrary to the provision of the law, Justice Okeke said that the prosecution did not in any way prove the ingredients of conspiracy against the defendants as it failed to establish where they met and conspired to commit any crime.

On the alleged N30 million gratification found in the account of Mrs. Olabowale and said to have been donated by a group of lawyers during her daughter’s wedding ceremony, the judge said that the prosecution failed woefully to establish that the donations by the lawyers was meant to influence cases before Justice Ademola, if at all there is any.

The judge said that a witness of the prosecution made it clear to the court that there was no evidence linking the donation for the marriage ceremony to influence any matter before the first defendant, hence, the judge dismissed the charge on the ground that the prosecution failed to discharge the burden of proof on it.

“From the evidence of prosecution witnesses 8 and 9, it was made categorically clear that the prosecution did not prove that the N30 million was not a donation to the 1st and 2nd defendants in the charge, hence, the charge cannot be sustained”

“This court has no choice than to agree with the 16th prosecution witness that it would be speculative to view the N30 million as gratification,” the judge held.

The judge therefore dismissed count 3, 4 and 5, which bordered on the receipt of gratification in the charge.

On the BMW car said to have been delivered to Ademide Ademola, a son of Justice Ademola, the Abuja High Court judge said that from the beginning to the end of the transaction that led to the delivery of the car, the prosecution did not establish any link to prove that Ademide Ademola negotiated in any way on behalf of the 1st defendant.

Justice Okeke said that count 9 is bereft of evidence against Justice Ademola because there was no iota of evidence, both oral and written, that the vehicle in question was meant for the judge as all documentary evidence, including the invoice pointed to the fact that Ademide negotiated for the car and was even delivered to him in his house, a fact not disputed by the prosecution.

On the foreign currencies found in the house of Justice Ademola, Justice Okeke held that the prosecution failed to establish against the first defendant that he acquired the money through unlawful acts and that none of the prosecution witnesses, who testified on the charge was able to prove that the money was acquired through fraudulent means as required by law.

The judge said that the charge had to be resolved in favour of the first defendant in view of the glaring inability of the prosecution to prove a prima facie case against the defendant.

Justice Okeke also resolved the charge on unlawful possession of firearms in favor of Justice Ademola on the same ground of the failure of the prosecution to maintain the charge with any reliable evidence.

Read Also:

  • Ribadu Proposes Reintegration of Military Veterans to Bolster National Security
  • DICON, Saudi firm sign MoU to produce security drones, satellites in Nigeria
  • Ex-COAS Urges Reforms in Recruitment, Training of Army, Harps on Prioritisation of Troops’ Welfare

Justice Okeke said that he believed the evidence of Justice Ademola that the two guns found in his house belonged to him and another judge of the Federal High Court, A. R. Mohammed, having tendered before the court and without contradiction from the prosecution, the letters approving and releasing the two guns to them on different dates by the appropriate authority.

The judge said that he disbelieved the claim of the prosecution that the two judges have no requisite licences to operate the guns, adding that the prosecution who had initially stood its ground that there were no licences, suddenly somersaulted when the licences were tendered by the defendants and that the allegation of the prosecution was changed completely to the fact that the licences were not tendered on time.

The court held that there was no evidence that the prosecution ever demanded from the defendants to produce the licences and that when provided and admitted by the court, the allegation of the prosecution became a empty.

Apart from tendering the letters of authority releasing the gun to him, Justice Ademola went a step further to tender the operational licence for the gun, hence, the charge on the unlawful possession of firearms crumbled like the previous ones.

In all, Justice Okeke said that the prosecution failed to establish prima facie case against the three defendants by the failure to provide evidence to link them with the alleged offenses and consequently dismissed the 18-count charges against the defendants, discharged and acquitted them from the alleged offenses.

It would be recalled that a no-case submission was made by the defendants, after the prosecution had closed its case against them on February 21, stressing that there was no need to enter defense.

Counsel to Justice Ademola, Onyechi Ikpeazu, at the March 15 sitting of the court, maintained that there was no evidence to further sustain the case.

On the count of acceptance of gratification, the counsel had argued that the evidence of Prosecution Witness 16, Babatunde Adepoju, who is an operative of State Security Service (SSS), had adequately proved otherwise.

Ikpeazu noted that he was the witness that carried out investigation on the defendants, and he had told the court that he could not link the alleged gratification with any case handled by Justice Ademola.

In his argument, counsel to Mrs. Ademola, Chief Robert Clerk (SAN), noted that his client was charged with conspiracy, an offense that was not recognised under the Penal Code.

On the statement that she fraudulently enriched the first defendant, the counsel expressed surprise that the word ‘conspiracy’ could be attached to a man, who was alleged to have committed an offense.

He had argued that the prosecution should establish the case or cases for which the money was allegedly paid as inducement.

According to him, no single witness had testified to have given the amount as bribe, neither did any of them point to any monetary transfer from the accounts of second or third defendants to that of the first defendant.

Counsel to the third defendant (Agi), Jeph Ejinkonye, had urged the court to take another look at the account of prosecution witnesses to see if there was any need for his client to enter defense.

The PW 16, Adepoju, had admitted that it would be mere speculation to say that the gift given to the first defendant by President Muhammadu Buhari’s lawyer was a bribe.

Based on the above statement by PW 16, Ejinkonye had urged the court to uphold the no-case-submission and strike out the case.

But the prosecution counsel, Segun Jegede, had opposed the no-case-submission, insisting that the defendants have enough case to answer.

The counsel believed that the witnesses actually established enough primae facie that money was paid by the third defendant into the account of the second defendant in March 2015.

By PRNigeria

PRNigeria encourages institutions to be transparent in their information management as it provides news items from authoritative sources for free use by the media
VISIT OUR OTHER WEBSITES
PRNigeria.com EconomicConfidential.com PRNigeria.com/Hausa/
EmergencyDigest.com PoliticsDigest.ng TechDigest.ng
HealthDigest.ng SpokesPersonsdigest.com TeensDigest.ng
ArewaAgenda.com Hausa.ArewaAgenda.com YAShuaib.com
  • TAGS
  • Justice Ademola
  • Justice Okeke
  • Maitama
  • President Buhari’s
Previous articleGroup Commends Dalung Intervention in rising Funds for Kim’s Nightmare
Next articlePresidency Tasks States on Arms Control
Prnigeria
Prnigeria
https://prnigeria.com
PRNigeria is the pioneer Press Release Distribution agency in Nigeria. A member of image Merchant Promotions limited, PRNigeria encourages individuals and organisations to be more transparent in their information management. with dedicated Editorial staffs, the PRNigeria ensures that information provided on its platforms are timely, factual and authoritative Read more at: //prnigeria.com/about/
Facebook Twitter

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Ribadu Proposes Reintegration of Military Veterans to Bolster National Security

DICON signs MoU with Saudi firm

DICON, Saudi firm sign MoU to produce security drones, satellites in Nigeria

Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya

Ex-COAS Urges Reforms in Recruitment, Training of Army, Harps on Prioritisation of Troops’ Welfare

Prioritise Troops’ Welfare, Mission Over Personal Gain – COAS Charges Army Commanders

Nigeria’s Growth Numbers Tell Only Half the Story By Umar Farouk Bala

NYSC Corps Members in Camp

The Burden Too Many Nigerian Youths Bear Alone

Corporate Affairs Commission

CAC Unveils AI-Powered Registration Portal to Revolutionize Business Registration in Nigeria

Employment: ICPC Secures Conviction of FAAN Staff

President & Chairman of Governing Council, Dr. Ike Neliaku

NIPR Lauds Nigerian PR Firms for Outstanding Performances at 2025 SABRE Africa Awards

Staff of PRNigeria with federal lawmakers

Federal Lawmakers Endorse PRNigeria Fellowship, Pledge Support for Youth Empowerment

SCN NGO signs partnership with PRNIGERIA

SCN NGO Seals Partnership with PRNigeria to Amplify its Humanitarian Projects

Domestic Violence

Marriage and the Silent Wounds Within Homes By Hafsat Ibrahim

LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply

Log in to leave a comment

Recent Posts

  • Ribadu Proposes Reintegration of Military Veterans to Bolster National Security
  • DICON, Saudi firm sign MoU to produce security drones, satellites in Nigeria
  • Ex-COAS Urges Reforms in Recruitment, Training of Army, Harps on Prioritisation of Troops’ Welfare
  • Prioritise Troops’ Welfare, Mission Over Personal Gain – COAS Charges Army Commanders
  • Nigeria’s Growth Numbers Tell Only Half the Story By Umar Farouk Bala
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
© 2020 PRNigeria. All Rights Reserved.
Latest News
Ribadu Proposes Reintegration of Military Veterans to Bolster National SecurityDICON, Saudi firm sign MoU to produce security drones, satellites in NigeriaEx-COAS Urges Reforms in Recruitment, Training of Army, Harps on Prioritisation of Troops’ WelfarePrioritise Troops’ Welfare, Mission Over Personal Gain - COAS Charges Army CommandersNigeria's Growth Numbers Tell Only Half the Story By Umar Farouk BalaThe Burden Too Many Nigerian Youths Bear AloneCAC Unveils AI-Powered Registration Portal to Revolutionize Business Registration in NigeriaEmployment: ICPC Secures Conviction of FAAN StaffCustoms Hands Over N172m Worth of Cannabis to NDLEA in Ogun, Commissions 13 New Patrol VehiclesCombating Deepfake Videos: A Fight for Nigeria's Soul By Mukhtar Ya'u MadobiMilitary Foils Terrorists' Bomb Attack, Discovers 56 IEDs on Marte–Dikwa Bridge in BornoNIPR Lauds Nigerian PR Firms for Outstanding Performances at 2025 SABRE Africa AwardsDHQ: How Troops Nabbed Mastermind of NDLEA Commander’s Kidnap in AnambraFederal Lawmakers Endorse PRNigeria Fellowship, Pledge Support for Youth EmpowermentSCN NGO Seals Partnership with PRNigeria to Amplify its Humanitarian Projects
X whatsapp