This followed a clash and disagreement between two prosecution lawyers who claimed to be representing the Nigeria Police Force in the case.
A magistrate court sitting in Wuse Zone 6 Abuja has again adjourned the hearing of the bail application of a social media influencer and blogger, Ofoegbu Chukwuma, popularly known as Ijele to Monday, April 8, 2024.
This followed a clash and disagreement between two prosecution lawyers who claimed to be representing the Nigeria Police Force in the case.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Wednesday before Chief Magistrate Emmanuel A. Iyanna, one Obiora Ejiofor stood up to announce an appearance for the police who are the prosecution in the case.
Surprisingly, another lawyer, B.N. Ezala stood up to announce her appearance for the police on the same case, leading to confusion.
Obiora asked the court for adjournment saying he had not been served with the court processes. The judge dismissed the submission, saying the evidence before the court showed that the police had been duly served with the processes.
At that point, Ezala who is the second lawyer said she was the one who filed the ex parte motion before the court on March 21, 2024, which was granted by the same court and the defendant was remanded at Keffi Prison.
Ezala said she came to file for the extension of time following the expiration of the 14-day detention order earlier issued by the court to enable them to file the charges at the Federal High Court since the magistrate court has no jurisdiction in the case.
In his submission, counsel for the defendant, Marvins Omorogbe, objected to the application by the prosecution for adjournment and filed for an extension of time. He insisted that the business of the court was to hear the defendant's application.
Omorogbe said claims by the two lawyers to be representing the police were deliberate and aimed at frustrating the bail application of his client and wasting the time of the court.
He told the court not to fall for the plot, adding that there was no confusion regarding who should represent the police in the matter since a lawyer had filed and moved an application on the matter.
The judge said he was confused because he did not know who would be representing the police in the matter just as he insisted that the defendant's bail application must be heard.
Meanwhile, the case was stood down for two hours to allow the police lawyers to sort themselves out.
However, in another encounter outside the court when Ijele's lawyers were discussing with him, a prison officer who accompanied Ijele, verbally attacked Deji Adeyanju and two other lawyers.
The prison officer accused them of facilitating phone calls for him (Ijele) while in court. He also accused the lawyers of conspiring to facilitate his escape from prison custody.
At this point, the prosecution team and other police officers who were in mufti also joined the prison officer, leading to a shouting match on the court premises.
The police lawyers were heard asking the prison officer to call for backup just as they threatened the defence lawyers with jail.
Following the drama that played out outside the courtroom, the magistrate was said to have cancelled the short ‘stand down’ as he refused to reconvene at 1: 30 pm which was earlier scheduled for the hearing and pronouncement on the bail application.
Surprisingly the lawyers got more than what they bargained for upon their arrival in the courtroom for the continuation of the case when the court registrar gave them April 8 as the new hearing date for the bail application.
Meanwhile, Ijele who appeared in court in a white kaftan on Wednesday was in high spirits.
SaharaReporters had reported that court documents it earlier obtained revealed how the Nigeria Police Force, acting on the ‘orders’ of Evangelist Ebuka Obi’s Zion Prayer Ministry Movement Outreach, secured an order from the Chief Magistrate Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Emmanuel A. Iyanna to remand Ijele in prison for two weeks to move his case to a High Court in Abuja.
A human rights lawyer, Adeyanju earlier accused the police lawyer, B.N. Ezala and Chief Magistrate Iyanna of having a secret meeting before the commencement of the proceedings.