Ogbuagu Akuzuo-umunna 💙

Voice for the people. Breaking down power, policy and politics in Nigeria. Reform isn’t a dream, it’s a decision.

[Ogbuagu Akuzuo-umunna 💙 @oduah5]

@kennezy @4funcomedian The lunatics have truly taken over the asylum.
Peter Obi saw it long before we did.

When a sitting governor threatens a man of peace for visiting citizens in his own country, you know the system is shaking. We’re not surprised.

[E.P Aninze Esq. @EkeneAninze]

I keep saying that if not for the case EFCC had with Dr. Joseph Nwobike, by now, the EFCC might have taken over the prosecution powers of virtually every other security agency in Nigeria.

Let me tell you the interesting story.

Sometime in March 2016, the EFCC arrested Dr. Joseph Nwobike, a lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

What exactly did he do?

According to the EFCC, Nwobike was accused of offering financial gratification to judicial officers, including an alleged payment of ₦750,000 to a Federal High Court Judge.

He was also accused of exchanging SMS messages with court registrars in an attempt to manipulate case assignments and secure specific hearing dates.

Following the allegations, he was arraigned before Justice Raliat Adebiyi of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja.

Nwobike, however, denied the accusations.

He argued that the money given to the judge was simply a compassionate gift meant to assist the judge's sick mother and had nothing to do with bribery.

He also denied that his text messages were intended to pervert the course of justice.

On April 30, 2018, the High Court discharged and acquitted him on the counts relating to the alleged bribery and gratification of a judge.

However, the court did not spare him as regards to the other offenses.

Nwobike was convicted on 12 counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice under Section 97(3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.

So he was consequently sentenced to 30 days' imprisonment.

Nwobike was not satisfied, so appealed to the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal, however, dismissed his appeal and affirmed the conviction.

But Nwobike was not done.

He proceeded to the Supreme Court without even looking back.

Before the apex court, Nwobike argued that the National Assembly established the EFCC primarily to investigate and prosecute financial and economic crimes.

According to him, the offence of attempting to pervert the course of justice is not a financial crime. Therefore, he argued, the EFCC lacked the legal power to prosecute such an offence.

He further contended that Section 97(3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, under which he was convicted, did not expressly define the exact conduct that constitutes an "attempt to pervert the course of justice.

As such, he argued that it offended Section 36(12) of the Constitution, which requires criminal offences to be clearly defined by law.

The Supreme Court carefully considered his arguments and agreed with his reasoning.

The court through Justice Tijjani Abubakar, held that Section 46 of the EFCC Act, which empowers the Commission to prosecute offences, does not extend to non-financial crimes.

The Justices explained that the EFCC cannot prosecute matters involving internal judicial misconduct, such as fixing cases or exchanging text messages with court registrars, unless such conduct is directly connected to financial crimes or the tracing of illicit financial proceeds.

The court reasoned that allowing the EFCC to investigate and prosecute every non-financial offence simply because it could be described as "corruption" would gradually strip the Police and other specialized law enforcement agencies of their constitutional and statutory responsibilities, thereby rendering many other laws ineffective.

In the end, the Supreme Court set aside Nwobike's 30-day conviction and discharged him.

Till today, that landmark judgment remains one of the authorities that limits the prosecutorial powers of the EFCC to offences that fall within its statutory mandate. It is commonly cited as Dr. Joseph Nwobike, SAN v. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2021) LPELR-56670(SC).

I am Ekene Aninze, Esq.

[Ogbuagu Akuzuo-umunna 💙 @oduah5]

@EkeneAninze The Supreme Court of today would have ruled against him.

[News Central TV @NewsCentralTV]

"A city like Abuja is not about projects. A city cannot be 'projectified' because the things that makes it is work and not projects."

@ChidiOdinkalu says the Nigerian government should prioritise accountable institutions over one-off projects.

Full 📹: https://t.co/uOaLdqjcl4

[Mimi @Mimi_yakigar]

Facts you need to know about Chidimma Adetshina's court case before forming an opinion. #chidimma #atruthatatime #southafrica #missafrica

[Àgbà John Doe (back up) @jon_d_doee]

I had to post this one.

That was so sleek 😂😂😂😂

Credit: @sokoh_official

[Ogbuagu Akuzuo-umunna 💙 @oduah5]

@anivic_e @sowore @MamaPee__ @Peter4Nigeria Exactly. He knew what he did.

[Ogbuagu Akuzuo-umunna 💙 @oduah5]

@grace_orji73673 I will like to learn more

[Ozor Ndi Ozor @OzorNdiOzor]

The Amazon rainforest has long guarded countless secrets, but in October 2009, it also returned life to several people.

On October 29, a Brazilian military Cessna C-98 Caravan carrying seven health workers from FUNASA and four crew members vanished from radar

[Ogbuagu Akuzuo-umunna 💙 @oduah5]

@EmodiMba How him go leave gig nah? Grey hairs nobi wisdom again oh!

[Ogbuagu Akuzuo-umunna 💙 @oduah5]

@emmyojiako @OlayinkaLere @PeterObi An important question

[Ogbuagu Akuzuo-umunna 💙 @oduah5]

@ChidiOdinkalu No comment…

[Ogbuagu Akuzuo-umunna 💙 @oduah5]

@OgbajiIfeanyi @AlexandriaEkeh Just in case

[Zekeri Idris Jnr @IdrisZekeriJnr]

Minister Keyamo came into the issue as a meddlesome interloper. #nigeria #politics

[DonAza @DonAzag]

If those who claimed they came to fight corruption in the name of "Mr. Integrity" could steal on this massive scale, what will happen under those who openly romance corruption? No wonder the political class is so desperate to keep Peter Obi off the ballot.

[Ogbuagu Akuzuo-umunna 💙 @oduah5]

Fact!

[Ogbuagu Akuzuo-umunna 💙 @oduah5]

@jpobiokafor @OLUAYEScotland @winexviv Comprehension is beyond him

[Ogbuagu Akuzuo-umunna 💙 @oduah5]

@josh_d_4th @OLUAYEScotland @winexviv A excellent point.

[Ogbuagu Akuzuo-umunna 💙 @oduah5]

@Ntob Harsh reality.
Businesses don’t always fail bcus they’re poorly run, they fail because customers can no longer afford products and services. When hardworking Nigerians are forced to spend their business capital just to survive, it’s a sign that something is fundamentally wrong.