Justice Samira Bature of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting in Maitama, yesterday, warned a property developer, Cecil Osakwe, and his co-defendants against continued attempts to evade arraignment in a criminal case filed by the Federal Government.

The defendants listed in the charge marked FCT/HS /CR/222/2023, are Cecil Osakwe, Victor Giwa and one other.

The case, which has been adjourned five times, involves nine charges bordering on alleged unlawful eviction, criminal intimidation, threat to life and malicious damage to property valued at over N300 million.

At Thursday’s sitting, only the first defendant, Osakwe, was present in court.
The second and third defendants were absent, prompting the prosecution represented by the Director of Public Prosecution of the federation, M.B. Abubakar, to decry persistent disregard for the court.

Abubakar told the court that the repeated absence of the defendants was undermining the integrity of the proceedings.

“This is the fifth adjournment. The defendants are showing disrespect and must not be allowed to ridicule the court. We are applying for a bench warrant to compel their appearance,” he said.

However, counsel to the second defendant, Ogbu Aboje, opposed the application. He explained that the second defendant was not evading the court, but had lost two siblings recently, which necessitated travel. He provided a flight ticket as proof.

He added that the second defendant’s lead counsel, Awa Kalu (SAN), had applied for an adjournment due to his involvement in a call-to-bar ceremony.

The prosecution disputed this claim, stating that the second defendant was not in court on the last adjourned date, March 17, and “wouldn’t have been in court and at the same time submitted a medical report.”

In a dramatic turn, Osakwe’s lawyer, Chibunna Odiniru, announced the withdrawal of his legal representation.
When the court demanded to hear from Osakwe, he claimed to have appeared in court twice. He acknowledged facing three different charges and expressed frustration during the proceedings, prompting a caution from the judge.

Justice Bature asked Osakwe directly whether he had secured new legal representation, he said when his legal representative announced their withdrawal, he had sought the services of Kalu, but the counsel would not be available immediately.

Noting the prolonged delays, the judge directed the court registrar to write to the Legal Aid Council to provide legal representation for the third defendant, who has no legal representation in the matter.

The judge emphasised that no further excuses or applications for adjournment would be entertained and adjourned till November 4 for final arraignment.

The charges against Osakwe and Giwa involve the alleged unlawful eviction of occupants and damage to property estimated at N300 million.