Justice Peter Kekemeke, presiding over a High Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Maitama, Abuja, expressed his dissatisfaction with the actions of both the police and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) in their attempt to withdraw a case before him.
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The judge emphasized that proper procedure should have been followed by both parties in withdrawing the matter.
The case in question involved the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Citadel Oracle Concepts Limited, Benjamin Joseph, who was charged with giving false information to the police.
The police alleged that Joseph had filed a petition accusing several individuals and companies, including Chief S.O Igbokwe, Princess Kama, Mrs Folashade Oyebode, Pirovics Engineering Service Ltd, and Zinoc, of identity theft, impersonation, and criminal conversion of N170 million against his company.
Additionally, the defendant claimed that these individuals and companies conspired and forged his signature.
During the hearing, the prosecuting counsel, Audu Garuba, informed the court that the matter would no longer proceed as planned.
He explained that the prosecution had been served with an originating summons from the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging the jurisdiction of the FCT High Court to handle the case.
The summons also requested the court to withdraw any criminal charges against the defendant, as directed by the Attorney-General of the Federation.
In response, the defense counsel, Abdulkareem Musa, stated that they were not aware of any pending case. Musa clarified that the defense was only aware of the directive given by the AGF, which instructed that any criminal charges against the defendant should be struck out. Therefore, he urged the court to strike out the case based on this directive.
