In December, 2024, the three young men in this picture were relaxing at a Bar in the village during the festive season not knowing that their lives were about to take an awful turn. Out of nowhere, these three men, alongside other persons at the venue, were pounced upon, brutally assaulted, and arrested by officers of a Joint Task Force comprising officers of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Police Force, and Civil Defence upon suspicion of being members of the IPOB and ESN.
He wrote
Quote
''A HUGE WIN FOR JUSTICE!
In December, 2024, the three young men with me in this picture were relaxing at a Bar in the village during the festive season not knowing that their lives were about to take an awful turn. Out of nowhere, these three men, alongside other persons at the venue, were pounced upon, brutally assaulted, and arrested by officers of a Joint Task Force comprising officers of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Police Force, and Civil Defence upon suspicion of being members of the IPOB and ESN.
After their unreasonable arrest, they were unlawfully detained at the Army Barracks for months, after which they were then handed over to the infamous Tiger Base Police Unit. From there, these young men were brought before the Magistrates' Court on trumped up charges of Conspiracy to commit Treason, Treason PUNISHABLE BY DEATH, and Illegal possession of firearms. The defendants were then remanded in prison since 2024.
Eventually, the matter was properly commenced via information at the High Court on the same charges.
During the trial, the Prosecution fielded only one out of the seven witnesses they listed, and tendered confessional statements purportedly obtained from the defendants. The Prosecution also tendered a locally-made firearm and live ammunition.
Interestingly, the IPO who authored the Investigation Report did not show up to testify in court. In fact, the Officer who purportedly signed the Report was not listed amongst the witnesses to be called.
Under the fire of cross-examination, the Prosecution's sole witness admitted that there was no video recording of the confession and that no lawyer was representing the accused persons when their statements were taken.
When asked why he failed to provide any evidence linking the defendants to Treason, the witness simply said that they included those charges based on what they were told by the Army Officers who handed over the defendants to them.
The Prosecution also failed to prove that any of the defendants was in actual possession of an illegal firearm, or that the locally-made contraption was even and actual firearm in the first place.
The defendants, during their examination-in-chief, narrated their ordeal in the hands of the security operatives. They stated how they were brutally beaten during the arrest, how they were tortured and forced at gunpoint to put on Army and Police Uniforms to pose with IPOB paraphernalia and various purported charms.
All three defendants retracted their purported confessional statements, insisting that they never admitted to being members of either IPOB or ESN. They denied ever owning or being in possession of any firearm.
As Defence counsel, I argued vigorously that due to the lack of credible and cogent evidence in support of the Prosecution's case, and the successful dismantling of the Prosecution's witness, the Prosecution had failed to prove its case against the defendants and that the justice of this case demands that the defendants be discharged and acquitted.
Today, the Court gave its verdict on this case, upholding all our arguments and submissions in favour of a total discharge and acquittal on all three charges levelled against the defendants.
Ladies and gentlemen, JUSTICE IS SERVED!
18/06/2026
Chukwubuikem E. Onumajuru, Esq.
In December, 2024, the three young men with me in this picture were relaxing at a Bar in the village during the festive season not knowing that their lives were about to take an awful turn. Out of nowhere, these three men, alongside other persons at the venue, were pounced upon, brutally assaulted, and arrested by officers of a Joint Task Force comprising officers of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Police Force, and Civil Defence upon suspicion of being members of the IPOB and ESN.
After their unreasonable arrest, they were unlawfully detained at the Army Barracks for months, after which they were then handed over to the infamous Tiger Base Police Unit. From there, these young men were brought before the Magistrates' Court on trumped up charges of Conspiracy to commit Treason, Treason PUNISHABLE BY DEATH, and Illegal possession of firearms. The defendants were then remanded in prison since 2024.
Eventually, the matter was properly commenced via information at the High Court on the same charges.
During the trial, the Prosecution fielded only one out of the seven witnesses they listed, and tendered confessional statements purportedly obtained from the defendants. The Prosecution also tendered a locally-made firearm and live ammunition.
Interestingly, the IPO who authored the Investigation Report did not show up to testify in court. In fact, the Officer who purportedly signed the Report was not listed amongst the witnesses to be called.
Under the fire of cross-examination, the Prosecution's sole witness admitted that there was no video recording of the confession and that no lawyer was representing the accused persons when their statements were taken.
When asked why he failed to provide any evidence linking the defendants to Treason, the witness simply said that they included those charges based on what they were told by the Army Officers who handed over the defendants to them.
The Prosecution also failed to prove that any of the defendants was in actual possession of an illegal firearm, or that the locally-made contraption was even and actual firearm in the first place.
The defendants, during their examination-in-chief, narrated their ordeal in the hands of the security operatives. They stated how they were brutally beaten during the arrest, how they were tortured and forced at gunpoint to put on Army and Police Uniforms to pose with IPOB paraphernalia and various purported charms.
All three defendants retracted their purported confessional statements, insisting that they never admitted to being members of either IPOB or ESN. They denied ever owning or being in possession of any firearm.
As Defence counsel, I argued vigorously that due to the lack of credible and cogent evidence in support of the Prosecution's case, and the successful dismantling of the Prosecution's witness, the Prosecution had failed to prove its case against the defendants and that the justice of this case demands that the defendants be discharged and acquitted.
Today, the Court gave its verdict on this case, upholding all our arguments and submissions in favour of a total discharge and acquittal on all three charges levelled against the defendants.
Ladies and gentlemen, JUSTICE IS SERVED!
18/06/2026
Chukwubuikem E. Onumajuru, Esq.
0 Comments