Emmanuel Thomas I Tuesday, June 11, 2024
IKEJA, Nigeria – These are certainly not the best of times for the Ministry of Justice in Lagos State as it seems that an era of extralegal practice has set in, courtesy, the Lagos Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Lawal Pedro, SAN.
He is allegedly acting against laid down procedures in matters involving land grabbing in the state even against legal advice from experts in the ministry who are well versed in the law as it pertains to one Moroof Owonla also known as Kaka Moroof, a notorious land grabber in the state.
One of the victims of Kaka Moroof, a hotelier by name Hassan Alli is angry with Lawal Pedro (SAN), for brushing aside standard legal practice and opting to withdraw a criminal charge filed by his office against Moroof Owonla over alleged felony and malicious damages prior to his emergence as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos.
The state’s Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had arraigned Owonla and two others before Justice Adenike Coker of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja over allegations of land-grabbing.
The DPP had filed an eight-count charge against Owonla and his co-defendants, Olu-Aminu Yemisi Abdulaziz and Ganiyu Amin, over an alleged conspiracy to commit felony. They were alleged to have forcefully entered into a landed property situated at No 34, Faguson Osagie Street, Ayobo, Lagos, carting away building materials valued at N30 million.
But during hearing, the defendant failed to appear to take their plea after several adjournments, prompting Justice Coker to issue a bench warrant for their arrest on April 25, 2024.
But, in a surprise move, the Director of Public Prosecution, Jide Martins, who had earlier issued a legal advice indicting and recommending the defendants for trial, filed a notice of discontinuance of the case on behalf of the Attorney General.
In the notice copied to the inspector General of Police and the court, Martins said the decision to withdraw the charge against the defendants was based on fresh facts recently discovered in the case.
In the Ministry of Justice’s letter dated 21st May, 2024, addressed to the IGP, Force C.I.D. Admin Team 6, Abuja, signed on behalf of the Attorney general and Commissioner for Justice, it stated that the ministry arrived at the decision to charge Owonla based on wrong information.
“From the foregoing, the only legal conclusion is that the Defendant has a valid right of claim on the land by virtue of the judgement and execution of the same which have not been set aside. Therefore, the defendants have no case to answer for any alleged occupation of the land at any time after the judgement and execution.”
However, Alli has described the move as an alleged ploy to deny him justice by Pedro, who he claimed was a lawyer to Owonla before he became the Attorney-General of Lagos State.
Alli also claimed that the development demonstrated the alleged bias of Pedro in the matter because the immediate past Attorney-General, Moyosore Onigbajo (SAN,) during his tenure, approved the trial of the defendants after the office of the DPP reviewed the report of the police and other supporting facts.
Buttressing his position on bias, the complaint showed a letter written by Pedro’s chamber relating to a land matter involving Owonla.
He further alleged, “rather than present the defendants in court, the new Attorney General initiated a meeting which he tagged ‘RESTORATIVE JUSTICE MEETING’ as against arraignment of Moroof Owonla, and his co-defendants in court and the ugly outcome of the meeting was for him to further boast before the Attorney-General that he has not committed any offence.
“I am indeed shocked to know that the judiciary has become so weak and predictable by non-state actors like Moroof Owonla, who continue to perpetrate criminality and boast of his connections with people in authority, which is not healthy for Nigeria’s judicial system and the justice Sector.
“I demand justice from all government agencies, all authorities in Nigeria, all well-meaning Nigerians who are in one way or the other affiliated to the justice delivery system in Nigeria including the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Lagos State House of Assembly Justice Committee, Federal House of Representative, Senate Committee on Justice, National Judicial Commission (NJC), Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) and the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA).
“I seek the intervention of all lovers of Justice to wade into this case to avert injustice kindly being meted out on me by improper discontinuance of the criminal infraction occasioned against my person by Moroof Owonla, who is boasting of his strong connection with the Attorney General of Lagos State.
“If this type of evil and injustice is allowed to have its way on me, it could also be the turn of any law-abiding citizens of Nigeria tomorrow,” Alli stated.
