The Anambra state attorney general and commissioner for justice, Dr (Mrs) Mary Imelda Obianuju Nwogu, has disowned a letter in which she purportedly advised the inspector general of police to withdraw a Federal High Court, Awka criminal case against Igwe Peter Uyanwa and eight others.
The traditional ruler of Ukwulu in Dunukofia local government area of the state, had, July 24, 2020 been slammed a 12-month suspension by the Anambra state government over alleged security reports and petitions against him by some of his subjects.
The monarch and eight others are being prosecuted on charges of conspiracy, cybercrimes, perjury, fabrication of evidence and conducts likely to cause breach of peace in the community in the said case number FHC/AWK/C/32/20. The case was recently transferred from an Abuja Federal High Court to Awka at the request of the defendants.
An undated letter signed by SP Stanley Nwodo from the commissioner of police, legal and prosecution section of the Force Intelligence and Investigative Department, Force Headquarters, Abuja, addressed to the registrar of the Federal High Court in Awka (and received on September 3, 2020) claimed that the Anambra state attorney general advised the police boss to withdraw the suit.
The letter read: “I have found it convenient to withdraw the above-mentioned charge recently amended and filed with charge No FHC/AWKA/C/32/2020 between Inspector General of Police vs HRM Igwe Peter Uyanwa and 8 others. The withdrawal is necessitated by the advice proffered by the Attorney-General of Anambra state to discountenance (sic) with the matter and also the directive from the Inspector General of Police having reviewed the case completely and this necessitated this letter.”
This paper learnt that the suspended monarch personally took the letter to a state government-owned media house for publication as an advertorial on September 3, 2020 but that the media house rejected it when, on verification, it discovered that the attorney general and the commissioner of justice did not sanction the withdrawal.
Commissioner Nwogu, responding to a message seeking her official clarification over the letter and purported legal advice to the IGP to discontinue prosecuting the criminal case against the embattled Ukwulu monarch, said: “I did not give the inspector general of police (IGP) any advice. I do not know anything about that (letter)”.
“I did not give the inspector general of police (IGP) any advice. I do not know anything about that (letter)”
When contacted for his opinion on the latest development trailing the case, the nominal complainant in the case, Prince Chinedu Tagbo, said that the false claim against the attorney general of the state was the latest in the series of desperate tactics employed by the monarch to scuttle the case by bribing his way out.
According to him, Uyanwa had been bragging that he had settled some powerful people that would help him kill the case and make sure that he and the eight others do not face any charge in court. He said that his ordeal in making sure that the suspended monarch did not escape justice “… started on May 9, 2019, when CSP Joseph Nwadike, who was prosecuting Chief Peter Uyanwa in the botched criminal case with charge number FHC/AWK/C/79/19 for perjury and forgery of PDP election results documents, threatened my life on phone.
“Nwadike had been mounting pressure on me to forgive the defendants. He told me, (I have it on record) that Prince Arthur Eze, after forgiving Chief Uyanwa, asked that I should do likewise in my case. The threat was since reported to the NPF-CRU with reference number CRU795219 but nothing has been done about it.
“Another instance was when ACP Cosmos Anyanwu, after filing the present charge in court demanded that I pay him N5,000,000 for prosecution or, in the alternative, collect N20,000,000 from the defendants as settlement to withdraw the matter; failure which he would file a motion of withdrawal in court.
“The motion of withdrawal was eventually filed by Anyanwu but Justice Okon Abang of Federal High Court, Abuja, struck it out by the application of one Sani Bagudu, a senior state counsel from the office of the honourable attorney general of the federation.
“Now, SP Stanley Nwodo has concocted this withdrawal, barely three weeks after he filed an amended charge in court. It is interesting to note that the commissioner of police (legal section), in view of the security situation surrounding this case, sent an application dated 11th August, 2020 with reference number CB: 3510/X/LEG/FHQ/ABJ/VOL. 10/54 to the court’s assistant chief registrar to forward the case file to Port Harcourt for immediate arraignment of the defendants by a vacation judge in order to forestall further threat to the nominal complainant and his witnesses.”
When the suspended monarch was approached for his comments on the letter, he said he was not aware of any attempt to place a newspaper advertorial over the said letter and was not involved in it.
Orient Daily further gathered that the case has been fixed for hearing on October 15, 2020.
“I did not give the inspector general of police (IGP) any advice. I do not know anything about that (letter)”
- The letter seeking for withdrawal of the case on the purported legal advice from the Attorney General of Anambra state
- The Letter seeking for transfer of the case
Second part of the transfer letter
Hearing notice of the case fixed for October 15, 2020