Judge Hands Lawyer Over to EFCC for Impersonating Agency, Filing Charges Against Stella Oduah

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has handed over Police lawyer Ibrahim Mohammed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

TrackNews reports that the lawyer is being investigated for filing criminal charges against former Minister of Aviation Senator Stella Adaeze Oduah in the name of the EFCC without proper authorisation from the anti-graft agency.

The controversy started when the counsel, Mohammed, appeared for the Nigeria Police Force and announced his appearance. He informed the court that the defendant, Stella Oduah, was absent because the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) said she was indisposed.

When the judge asked about the charge’s signatory, the prosecutor confirmed it was a police officer, who had recently been seconded to the EFCC but redeployed back to the Police Force in November 2022.

The judge questioned how the charge was filed by the EFCC in June 2023 but being prosecuted by the police and demanded to know whether a reasonable man would accept the prosecutor’s explanations

The judge ordered the anti-graft agency to investigate the prosecution counsel and scheduled a follow-up hearing. Additionally, the counsel, Ibrahim Mohammed, was directed to report to the EFCC.

The former Aviation Minister was taken to court over an eight-count criminal charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The charges, filed on Monday, June 26, included allegations of document fabrication, conspiracy to commit a felony, and other offences.

This development comes amidst a controversy surrounding allegations of document falsification by the former Anambra North senator, suggesting that she fraudulently claimed to have completed the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program.