An Abuja-based legal practitioner, Abu Arome, has raised alarm over what he describes as the “weaponisation of state institutions” in a land dispute involving his non-Nigerian clients, accusing law enforcement of being manipulated to criminalise a purely civil matter.
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In a public statement titled “My Odyssey: Battling Land Grabbers in the Pursuit of Justice,” Arome detailed his harrowing experience representing clients who, in September 2024, filed a suit against alleged encroachment on their property. What followed, according to him, was an orchestrated campaign of intimidation spearheaded by a “notorious land predator” who resorted to using law enforcement as a tool of harassment.
“Suddenly, routine corporate resolutions signed by bona fide directors became ‘forgeries,’ and legitimate filings were treated as criminal evidence,” Arome said, noting that his clients had never been accused of any wrongdoing in the 13 years prior to asserting their legal rights.
Even more troubling, he claimed, was the fact that he himself was roped into the matter with allegations dating back to 2009 and 2013 periods he asserts he was still a university student.
“These allegations are not only laughable but demonstrate the dangerous abuse of criminal justice tools in what is essentially a civil dispute,” he said, citing the absence of forensic procedures and basic evidentiary standards in the investigations.
He expressed concern over the conduct of law enforcement officers who, in his words, lack proper understanding of corporate governance yet issue sweeping accusations with far-reaching consequences.
“Our media, public institutions, and even many colleagues accept these injustices without scrutiny. The press publishes unverified allegations, and we are left to bear the suffocating weight of criminal proceedings that should never have existed,” he stated.
Arome is now calling for systemic reform. Specifically, he recommends that the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation be legally mandated to review all criminal investigations before any charges are brought to court.
“This would serve as a safeguard against politically or financially motivated prosecutions,” he argued. “Justice cannot thrive where the innocent must suffer to prove their innocence.”
He concluded by affirming his commitment to the pursuit of justice, stating that the ongoing matter transcends a simple property dispute.
“This fight is now about the soul of our legal system whether we still believe in law as a tool for justice or if we have resigned ourselves to letting the powerful rule through fear and manipulation.”
The matter is said to be ongoing, with no date yet announced for further judicial proceedings.
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