A High Court of Justice in Abia State has declined to order the Inspector-Gener al of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to prosecute Dr. ACB Agbazuere, who was recently suspended from office as Chief of Staff to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, for allegedly spraying money on Prophet Chukwuemeka Ohanaemere, popularly known as Odumeje.
Agbazuere was suspended after a video of him spraying naira notes on a dancing Odumeje, in a place believed to be his office, trended on social media platforms.
Following the development, one Obinna Mba, who identified himself as an indegene of Abia State, went to court for an order to compel the IGP, the Assistant IGP Zone 9 Police Command Umuahia and the Commissioner of Police Abia State, listed as 1st to 3rd Respondents, to immediately prosecute the suspended CoS who was sued as the 4th Respondent.
The Applicant, through his lawyer, Chief Mike Ndu, contended that the action of the 4th Respondent in spraying money on Odumeje also know as Indaboski, was illegal.
He prayed the court to compel the 4th Respondent to immediately submit himself to the nearest police station or to the 1st-3rd Respondents, "for investigation and necessary prosecution without any delay ".
Mba also applied for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Respondents by themselves, their officers, appointees, servants, workers, staff, members, agents, privies or howsoever called, from harassing, arresting and/or detaining him for no justifiable reason.
As well as for an order to compel Dr Agbazuere to tender unreserved apology to him in two national dailies.
The Applicant said he wrote a petition to the office of the Commissioner of Police in Abia State shortly after the money spraying incident occurred, even as he alleged that the 1st - 3rd Respondents, "either failed, refused and/or neglected to act on the said petition".
He told the court that instead, the Respondents, began to threaten him, hence his resolve to file the action for redress.
Meanwhile, though the 1st to 3rd Respondents did not respond to the suit, however, Dr. Agbazuere, through his lawyer, Mr. Valentine Igboanugo, challenged the competence of the legal action against him.
Agbazuere, in his counter -affidavit, told the court that the Applicant, "merely made a wide and unsubstantiated allegation of facts" against him.
He said the Applicant failed to adduce sufficient, credible and convincing particulars as to when, where and how his fundamental human right was violated.
Delivering judgement in the matter, Justice Benson Anya agreed with the 4th Respondent that the suit deserved to fail.
The court noted that Agbazuere made it clear that he saw a cloned or doctored video widely circulated over the internet, showing where he was spraying money on the Prophet in his office.
Justice Anya held that owing to Agbazuere's denial, the court made an order on December 16, 2020, mandating that the video clip which was tendered in evidence as Exhibit-B, should be subjected to a forensic examination/computer analysis in Abuja.
He said the result of the analysis showed that the said video clip which triggered the court action, "is indeed a cloned video clip which was orchestrated by mischief makers and indolent fault finders all in a bid to undo the 4th Respondent".
The court held that the Applicant failed to challenge contents of Agbazuere's counter affidavit, adding that by virtue of section 124(1) of the Evidence Act, 2011, the unchallenged depositions of facts in the affidavit are deemed admitted by the opposing party.
Consequently, though the court, in the judgement dated December 22, refused to grant any relief against Agbazuere, it however restrained the Respondents from arresting or harrasing the Applicant.
0 Comments