EFCC confronts Nwobike with text messages to judges, court officials

Nwobike is being tried by the EFCC on 11 counts bordering on perverting the course of justice and offering gratification to public officials. The judges involved in the alleged gratification scam are Justice H. A. Nganjiwa and Justice Musa Kurya, all of the Federal High Court, Lagos and Justice Agbadu Fishim of the National Industrial Court. The EFCC claimed that Nwobike engaged in sending illegal text messages to four registrars of the Federal High Court in a bid to unduly influence his cases being heard by the judges. Nwobike, however, denied all the charges. While being led in evidence by his counsel, Mr. Olawale Akoni (SAN), Nwobike had told the court that the money he allegedly gave to the judges was not gratification but was meant to assist them. He had noted that the judges were old friends who he had been acquainted with while in the university which was long before they were appointed as judges A compact disc (Exhibit P21) allegedly containing text messages from the SAN’s seized mobile phone (Exhibit P18) was projected on a screen during the cross-examination of Nwobike at his ongoing trial at an Ikeja High Court. During cross-examination, the EFCC counsel, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, accused Nwobike of sending text messages to one Mr. Baruwa, a clerk of the Federal High Court, Lagos. He claimed that Nwobike was aware that Baruwa worked with one Mr. Jide, a Deputy Registrar of the court. Responding, Nwobike said, “I know Mr. Baruwa; he is a clerk of the Federal High Court. I do not know he works with Mr. Jide; he told me that his office is directly opposite Mr. Jide’s office. “I have had course to send messages to Mr. Baruwa in the course of my duties just like any other legal practitioner,” Nwobike said. Disputing Nwobike’s claims, Oyedepo maintained that Nwobike was aware that the clerk shared an office with the Deputy Chief Registrar. Confronting the SAN further, Oyedepo showed him text messages in which details of lawsuits were allegedly sent by Nwobike to Baruwa in a bid to assign the cases to some specific judges. Oyedepo accused the SAN of obstructing the prosecution of Dr. Femi Thomas, a client of Nwobike who was allegedly caught at the Muritala International Airport with $200m dollars. Justice Raliat Adebiyi adjourned the case till July 12 for continuation of trial.]]>