A charge bordering on impersonation leveled against the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Edozie Njoku, by the Nigeria Police Force has been dismissed by Justice Mohammed Madugu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.
Justice Madugu ruled that the charge could not stand since the prosecution failed to show how Njoku committed impersonation.
On November 22, 2022, the police arraigned Njoku and the APGA’s National Youth Leader, Chukwuemeka Nwoga, on 14 charges of impersonation and plotting with individuals at large to overturn a Supreme Court judgment delivered by Justice Mary Peter Odili (retd).
Justice Madugu today dismissed all 14 counts filed against Njoku due to a lack of substantial record and oral evidence presented by the police lawyer, Ezekiel Rinasonte.
The judge ruled that as a result of the “lack of sufficient and credible evidence, the prosecution has failed woefully to prove its case against the defendants” .
“I find the 1st defendant, Chief Edozie Njoku and the 2nd defendant, Chukwuma Nwoga, not guilty as charged, and therefore they have been discharged and acquitted,” Justice Madugu ordered.
The defense lawyer had requested the court to discharge and acquit the defendants since the police had failed miserably to meet the primary burden of proof placed on them by law.
The court used the issue proposed by the defense counsel to evaluate whether the prosecution had established its case against the defendants beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court stated that under Section 138 of the Evidence Act, the prosecution was required to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
In his judgement, Justice Madugu stated that “it’s crystal clear, that internal disputes in APGA had played a significant role in causing complexity of the case”.
The court stated on the first count that as it was a charge of criminal conspiracy, the prosecution had to provide circumstantial evidence to support its case.
The prosecution witness, the court said, did not present any evidence that would have connected the defendants to a plan or conspiracy to perpetrate the accused offense.
“In accordance with section 178 of the penal code, the prosecution did not establish any dishonest intent from the letter Chief Njoku wrote to Justice Mary Peter Odili, retired.”
The court specifically concluded that the prosecution counsel had failed to present sufficient evidence in the 14-count accusation to find the defendants guilty as charged.
