- By Femi Alabi
The lead Counsel to Chioma Okoli in the Erisco Tomatoes suit, Inibehe Effiong has described the recent press release by the Police as utterly baseless and prejucial.
Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi stated that the Police are committed to “upholding the rule of law in the Erisco Tomatoes matter.”
Effiong stated if anyone is to talk about upholding the rule of law, it will not be the Police in this instance.
He said, “It is on record that policemen who claimed to be acting under the orders of the Inspector General of Police illegally invaded the home of our client on 9th January 2024 and laid siege to her home for over 10 hours in their attempt to rearrest her, in violation of the subsisting restraining order of the Federal High Court that our client must not be rearrested except on the express order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
“It is preposterous for the Force PRO to insinuate that crowdfunding can influence legal proceedings. He failed to state exactly how this is possible or how it affects Chioma’s case. If the Force PRO is interested in getting a share of the funds contributed by concerned Nigerians to support Chioma, he should come out plainly and say so instead of indulging in embarrassing prevarication.
Effiong further added that, since the police have filed a charge in court, they should allow the court to determine the case instead of engaging in a media trial.
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He held that it is curious that the Force PRO has chosen to keep the so-called “compelling evidence” only in his head, noting that, he should extract it from his head and present it before the court.
“By Section 36(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), Chioma is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
“We are equally taken aback by the barefaced falsehood propagated by the Force PRO to the effect that Chioma had jumped bail. This is offensive and we may be forced to sue ACP Adejobi for that defamatory statement. Chioma is not on the run and has never jumped bail.
“Under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, a defendant who is not in custody must be served with a copy of the charge along with proof of evidence and notice of trial. These are preconditions to the appearance of the defendant in court.
“The last two times that the charge came up in court, the police prosecutor admitted that they were yet to serve Chioma with a copy of the charge and pleaded for more time.
“We waited for them to do so but they didn’t. We proceeded on our own to apply for and obtain the certified true copy of the charge to save the time of the Court. We did this to demonstrate that Chioma is ready and very willing to stand trial and has nothing to fear.”.