Ifeanyi Ubah: Police charge Obinna Uzoh’s lawyer with forgery
The police have charged a lawyer, Eziafa Enwedo, with forgery of court documents which a judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, in Kubwa, Abuja, relied on to remove Ifeanyi Ubah as the senator representing Anambra South.
The legal/prosecution section of the Force Headquarters in Abuja filed the six counts in the case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/78/2020, on Thursday.
The prosecuting counsel, Celestine Udo, alleged that Enwedo in September 2019 conspired with Anani Chuka, Aroh Ifunanya, Faith Samuel and Obinna Uzoh, who were all said to be at large to commit the offences.
They allegedly forged the originating summons marked CV/3044/18 and motion on notice for joinder with motion number M/4017/19, and also “made a false document, namely, a purported judgment in the suit with number CV/3044/18.”
The prosecution alleged that with intent to commit fraud, the lawyer and his alleged co-conspirators, made the false documents and the “purported judgment” in the suit CV/3044/18 – Anani Ancletus Chuka v. Ubah Ifeanyi Patrick and others “knowing same to be false with the intent that it may be acted upon as genuine to the prejudice of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, a distinguished senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District.”
It alleged that the defendant also made “a press release to ElombahNews with attached court documents that Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, the distinguished senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District at the 9th Senate of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has by that judgment been removed from the Senate on the grounds of having forged his NECO certificate and that his political party, Young Progressives Party, did not conduct primaries.”
The offences were said to be contrary to section 3 (b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and punishable under section 1(2) (c) of the same Act.
Justice Bello Kawu of the FCT High Court in Kubwa, Abuja in the April 11, 2019 judgment removed Ubah from the Senate for allegedly using a forged National Examination Council certificate to contest the Anambra South senatorial election on February 23, 2019.
Uzoh was said to be part of the conspiracy for the forgery of the court documents.
However, Ubah contended that he was not served with any court documents in respect of the suit.
He stated how he discovered that the court documents upon which the said judgment which removed him from office was based on forged court documents with superimposed suit number which belonged to another suit entirely.
He provided letters from the Nigerian Bar Association, confirming that the seal affixed to the allegedly forged originating summons was produced long after the date the suit was allegedly filed. Punch
