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Court strikes out cyberstalking charges against HEDA Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, for lack of Evidence
The Chairman of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Mr Olanrewaju Suraju has been discharged of cyberstalking crime charges brought against him by the Federal Government. A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja headed by Justice Binta Nyako struck out the cyberstalking charge filed against him by the Nigerian government for lack of evidence.
Suraju’s discharge followed a request from the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami to withdraw the charge against the HEDA boss.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the prosecuting counsel Mrs Yewande Cole told the court that she had been directed by the Attorney General to withdraw the case.
“I have the instruction of the Attorney-General to withdraw the amended charge of two counts for further review.
“This means that the court will strike out the case and when we are ready to go on, we will come back and refile it,” Cole said.
She also argued that according to relevant provisions of the law, the defendant could only be discharged and not acquitted at this point.
Counsel to Suraju, Mr Muiz Banire, (SAN), however, asked to court to acquit his client saying that was the natural cause of action following such an application for withdrawal.
“It is law as contained in Section 355 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) that where such an application is made, the court will acquit the defendant.”
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Banire also asked the court to order the release of the N7 million bond he posted to secure the bail of his client. The senior lawyer further asked the court to award N1 million cost to him.
In a short ruling, Justice Binta Nyako discharged Suraju and also discharged the N7 million bail bond.
Justice Nyako, however, ordered the prosecution to pay N250,000 to the defendant, whenever the case was going to be refiled.
Suraju was docked before Justice Nyako on a 2-count amended charge bordering on allegedly cyberstalking former Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Mohammed Adoke.
The case was filed against the HEDA boss by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
In count one of the charges marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/370/2021, Suraj was accused of intentionally circulating an audio telephone interview between one Ms Carlamaria Rumur, a reporter with RIA Reporter in Italy and Adoke via his Twitter handle @HEDAagenda.
This, the charge alleged he knew to be false, to cause insult to Adoke and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention ETC) Act 2015 and punishable under the same section of the act.
In count two, the defendant was accused of committing the same offence in count one via his Facebook handle, @HEDAResourcecentre.
Recall that a former Minister of Justice, Bello Adoke, one of the accused charged with fraud in the OPL245 scam also referred to as the Malabu scandal, had petitioned the police and accused Suraju of being behind the petitions resulting in his prosecution for corruption and money laundering.
He was said to have told the police that evidence was fabricated against him to unduly incriminate him in the multi-million dollar scandal.
Suraju, who addressed journalists at the court, said, “The Nigerian government has sued JP Morgan Chase Bank over the payment of $801million to Malabu from the account that belongs to Nigeria and because of that JP Morgan was the one that brought the email upon which Adoke claimed was forged.
“It was brought by JP Morgan Chase to court and the same thing with the tape. The Nigerian government has gone contrary to what they said here and in the UK court, to say that the email was authentic and legitimate.
“So it was in that instance we challenged them that this is what you are saying in the UK court and you are saying that same thing was forged in Nigeria. JP Morgan’s lawyer in London brought it up and said the Nigerian government was not credible by coming to say those documents are authentic because the same documents are being used to prosecute me in Nigeria.
“The UK-based Nigerian lawyer said that the charges filed in Nigeria were at the compromise of DPP and Adoke and it was not the Nigeria government. He pleaded there on February 28 in London court that the charges will be withdrawn.”
