A Lagos State High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square has acquitted Frederick Nwajagu, the Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate, of all terrorism-related charges after spending nearly two years in detention at Ikoyi Prison.

Nwajagu had been accused of attempting to incite violence by inviting members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to protect Igbo properties in Lagos. The charges stemmed from a video that surfaced in April 2023, where he expressed concern over attacks on the Igbo community.

Delivering the verdict on January 15, 2025, Justice Yetunde Adesanya stated that there was no sufficient evidence to convict Nwajagu on the terrorism charges brought against him by the Lagos State Government.

However, the court found him guilty of violating Lagos State’s Oba and Chiefs Law for unlawfully parading himself as a certified chief. Nwajagu was sentenced to 12 months in prison for the offense but was released immediately due to the time he had already served.

The judge, however, ordered that the convict should be released since he had spent almost two years in incarceration.

The 67-year-old was arrested on April 1, 2023, after a viral video allegedly showed him threatening to invite members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to Lagos to protect the properties of Igbo residents in the state.

In the 49-second viral video, Nwajago was heard saying, “IPOB, we will invite them. They have no job. All of the IPOB will protect all of our shops. And we have to pay them. We have to mobilise for that. We have to do that. We must have our security so that they will stop attacking us at midnight, in the morning, and in the afternoon.”

A few days later, a Yaba magistrate court remanded Nwajagu in prison, and he was subsequently arraigned by the Lagos State Government on nine counts of terrorism and impersonation.

He was arraigned on May 10, 2023, before Justice Adesanya and pleaded not guilty to nine counts, including attempts to commit acts of terrorism, participation in terrorism, support for a proscribed entity, and preparation to commit an act of terrorism.

During the trial, a prosecution witness, Mrs. Raulat Ibrahim, a civil servant at the Ministry of Local Governments, Chieftaincy Affairs, and Rural Development, testified that “Eze Ndigbo” was not a recognised chieftaincy title in Lagos State.

Ibrahim explained the legal and procedural requirements for recognising an Oba or chief in Lagos under the Obas and Chiefs Law of Lagos State, 2015.

She noted that Nwajagu did not parade himself as any of the recognised chiefs, such as the Elegushi of Ikate or Baale of Addo, and emphasised that there was no recognised Oba or chief in Ajao Estate.

According to Ibrahim, the process for confirming a chieftaincy title involves multiple steps, including recommendations from the local government, scrutiny by the Ministry of Justice, and eventual approval by the Governor’s office.

She explained that installation as an Oba or chief also requires formal recognition and a certificate issued by the governor.

“There is no installation for a chief without proper recognition. The letter of approval, signed by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, is what confirms recognition as a chief in Lagos State,” she said.

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