A Lagos based senior lawyer, Vincent Okafor Esq. has been allegedly framed and remanded in prison custody on an allegation of promoting local war in his hometown, Agunese Mmaku community in the Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
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The legal practitioner of 30 years post call standing, was whisked away by the Nigerian Police from his base in Lagos last Thursday, purportedly on the orders of an Enugu Magistrate Court.
He was moved to Enugu quickly and hurriedly arraigned the next day before the Magistrate Court on a three-count charge, bordering on “felony and carrying out a warlike undertaking against Igwe Nevobasi and the members/indigenes of Agunese Mmaku community.”
The court remanded him in prison on the basis that it lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the case.
However, contrary to the allegations levelled against the senior lawyer, sources familiar with the case told the reporter that the charge against Okafor was a frame up, to deliberately keep him behind bars, knowing that a bail application cannot be entered on his behalf when courts of competent jurisdiction were on annual vacation.
His ordeal was linked to the town union crisis in Agunese Mmaku, which pitched prominent members of the community against the Traditional Ruler, Igwe Nevobasi who was bent on hijacking the town union election.
According to our sources who wished to remain anonymous, when the royal father realised that his crony, the former President-General of the community, Laz Udeh, would be defeated in the town union election, he truncated the process and started using security operatives to harass those who wanted enlightened members of the community to superintend over the affairs of the town union.
Desperate to nail those challenging him, Nevobasi wrote a petition to the Department of State Services (DSS), alleging that opponents of his preferred candidate were members and sponsors of the IPOB/ESN unknown gunmen.
It was further gathered that two other opponents of the Traditional Ruler, Mr. Theophilus Chukwu and Mr. David Okeke were arrested three months ago, charged to court, and remanded in prison custody under similar circumstances.
Our sources insisted that the charge against the lawyer was concocted, stressing that the police were being used to intimidate and harass him for daring to oppose the traditional ruler, who by law had no active role to play in the town union election.
“Both constitutionally and in Enugu State Law, a traditional ruler should not interfere in the town union election. The Town Union is under the Ministry of Rural Development, while the Traditional Ruler is under the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters.
“So, the lawyer was framed up. This man is a lawyer of 30 years post call standing. Go and check his records in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), he has no record of any form of involvement in violence. The Traditional Ruler used the Nigerian Police and the Magistrate Court to frame up an innocent man.
“They timed it to coincide with the vacation of the courts. You know that during the annual vacation, the time of filing and service of pleadings shall not run unless otherwise ordered by the judge. Actions may be heard by consent of all the parties in the matter and only interlocutory applications of urgent matter may be dealt with. Even if the court resumes next week, it will take at least one or two weeks before he would be brought to court. You can see that the entire thing is a carefully orchestrated frame up.”
Part of the charge sheet with Charge No. MEN/590C/2024 reads: “That you Vincent Okafor ‘m’ and others now at large on the 13th day of August 2024 at Agunese Mmaku in Agwu Magisterial District holden in Enugu did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit: Promoting Local War and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 495 (a) of the Criminal Code, Cap 30, Vol.II, Revised Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004.
“Count II: That you Vincent Okafor ‘m’ and others now at large on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned Magisterial District did without lawful authority, carry on a warlike undertaking against HRH Igwe Cyprian M. Nevobasi ‘m’ by attacking him with guns, cutlasses, axes and other dangerous weapons and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 86 of the Criminal Code, Cap 30, Vol.II, Revised Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria, 2004.
“Count III: That you Vincent Okafor ‘m’ and others now at large on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned Magisterial District did without lawful authority, carry on a warlike undertaking against the members/indigenes of Agunese Mmaku Community and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 86 of the Criminal Code, Cap 30, Vol. II, Revised Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004.”
As of the time this report was filed, efforts to speak with the Enugu State Police Command yielded no fruits. Igwe Nevobasi could also not be reached for comments.
It would be recalled that in an interview with journalists after the botched town union elections, Nevobasi maintained that his opponents brought unknown gunmen wearing military fatigue to his community on the day of the election, insisting that he did the right thing by inviting the security agencies, being the Chief Security Officer of the Community.
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