Presidential Directive: FG alleges forgery, drags Leadership Newspapers to court

The Federal Government has dragged
the Leadership Newspapers, its News
Editor, Mr. Tony Amokeodo, and a
political reporter, Chibuzor Ukaibe, to
court over alleged forgery.
They were brought before Justice
Adeniyi Ademola of a Federal High
Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday
over a 10-count charge bordering on
forgery of a document titled
“Bromide of The Presidential
Directive” which they published in
their newspaper on April 3.
On Monday, Amokeodo and Ukaibe,
first detained for about two days on
April 8, were re-arrested when they
reported at the police station in
compliance with Police bail condition.
According to the charge brought
against them on Tuesday, the
accused were alleged to have
conspired with another reporter,
Taiwo Omilani, said to be at large, to
forge the document and thereby
committed an offence and punishable
under section 467 of the Criminal
Code Act Cap C 38, Laws of the
Federation of Nigeria 2004.
However, before their plea could be
taken, Amokeodo, who is listed as
the first accused in the charge, told
the trial judge, Justice Ademola, that
he and his colleague were detained
on Monday and were driven to court
Tuesday morning from detention
without any information on the
charge brought against them.
The prosecutor, Mr. Joe Nwadike, had
informed the court that the police re-
arrested the journalists whom he
alleged had jumped bail having failed
to keep to the terms of the
administrative bail they were granted.
He said that it took the effort of a
combined team of investigators and
security operatives to effect their
arrest Monday night.
Nwadike also told the court that the
accused persons’ lawyer had been
served with copies of the charge and
the notice of their arraignment.
The journalists’ plea was however not
taken upon the discovery by the
court that the company, Leadership
Group Limited, the third accused in
the charge, had not been served.
Consequently, the court directed that
the company be served to compel
the appearance of a director of the
company to represent it.
Nwadike requested for an
adjournment to enable the police
effect service on the company and
thereafter asked the court to order
the detention of the journalists
pending their arraignment and plea
taking.
However, Mr. Samuel Ogala from Mr.
Femi Falana’s chambers who
represented the journalists opposed
this submission and pleaded with the
court to grant the accused persons
conditional release pending their
formal arraignment and plea taking.
Justice Ademola however refused
Nwadike’s request and released the
journalists to Mr. Umar Jibril, a
lawyer and company secretary to
Leadership Newspapers and
adjourned till April 24 for their
arraignment.
Meanwhile, Media Rights Agenda
(MRA) has condemned the re-arrest
on April 15 of Amokeodo and Ukaibe
of Leadership newspaper, describing
the action as systematic and
unwarranted harassment.
It called for the immediate and
unconditional release of the
journalists, saying it had issued a
global alert on the matter through
the mechanism of the International
Freedom of Expression Exchange
(IFEX) to call international attention
to the situation of the journalists
whom it said were simply being
harassed for exposing the
government’s political machinations.
MRA’s Deputy Executive Director, Ms
Jennifer Onyejekwe, described the
action of the Police as “sheer abuse
of power”
“The police know that they have no
power to hold the journalists for
more than 24 hours without a court
order. They have therefore resorted
to undermining the Constitution by
detaining them, releasing them and
again detaining them.
“This is sheer abuse of power and we
are calling on the global freedom of
expression community to condemn
this high-handedness on the part of
the Nigerian Government and its law
enforcement agencies,” she said.
Onyejekwe added that “It was clear
from the circumstance that the Police
had no evidence of wrongdoing
against the journalists and had
resorted to a strategy of harassment
and intimidation to frustrate the
journalists and prevent them from
carrying out their professional
duties.”
The 10-count charge against
LEADERSHIP reads:
Count 1: “That you Tony Amokeodo,
Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group
Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani
who is now at large, on the 3rd day
of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja
judicial division did conspire amongst
yourselves to commit felony to wit:
forging of document titled BROMIDE
OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE and
place same on the front of
LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day
of April, 2013, knowing it to be false
and with the intent that it may in any
way be used or acted upon as
genuine and thereby committed an
offence punishable under section 516
of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38
laws of the federation of Nigeria
2004”.
Count 2: “That you Tony Amokeodo,
Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group
Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani
who is now at large, on the 3rd day
of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja
judicial division did forged a
document titled BROMIDE OF THE
PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE and place
same on the front of LEADERSHIP
NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April,
2013, knowing it to be false and with
the intent that it may in any way be
used or acted upon as genuine and
thereby committed an offence
punishable under section 467 of the
criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of
the federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 3: “That you Tony Amokeodo,
Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group
Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani
who is now at large, on the 3rd day
of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja
judicial division did conspire amongst
yourselves to commit felony to wit:
knowingly and fraudulently uttering a
false document titled BROMIDE OF
THE PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE and
place same on the front of
LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day
of April, 2013, for the use/
consumption of the general public
and thereby committed an offence
punishable under section 516 of the
criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of
the federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 4: “That you Tony Amokeodo,
Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group
Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani
who is now at large, on the 3rd day
of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja
judicial division did knowingly and
fraudulently utter a false document
titled BROMIDE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL
DIRECTIVE and place same on the
front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of
3rd day of April, 2013, for the use/
consumption of the general public
and thereby committed an offence
punishable under section 468 of the
criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of
the federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 5: “That you Tony Amokeodo,
Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group
Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani
who is now at large, on the 3rd day
of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja
judicial division did conspire amongst
yourselves to commit felony to wit:
forging/making a false document and
placed same on the front of
LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day
of April, 2013, having on it the seal,
signet or sign manual which purports
that it is from the president of the
federal republic of Nigeria and
thereby committed an offence
punishable under section 516 of the
criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of
the federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 6: “That you Tony Amokeodo,
Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group
Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani
who is now at large, on the 3rd day
of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja
judicial division did forge/make a
false document and placed same on
the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER
of 3rd day of April, 2013, having on it
the seal, signet or sign manual which
purports that it is from the president
of the federal republic of Nigeria and
thereby committed an offence
punishable under section 467 (1)(b)
of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38
laws of the federation of Nigeria
2004”.
Count 7: “That you Tony Amokeodo,
Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group
Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani
who is now at large, on the 3rd day
of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja
judicial division did conspire amongst
yourselves to commit felony to wit:
making a false document on the front
of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd
day of April, 2013, having on it the
seal, signet or sign manual which
said forged document purports to be
the signature of the president of the
federal republic of Nigeria as
presidential directive and thereby
committed an offence punishable
under section 516 of the criminal
code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the
federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 8: “That you Tony Amokeodo,
Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group
Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani
who is now at large, on the 3rd day
of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja
judicial division did make a false
document on the front of
LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day
of April, 2013, having on it the seal,
signet or sign manual which said
forged document purports to be the
signature of the president of the
federal republic of Nigeria as
presidential directive and thereby
committed an offence punishable
under section 467(3)(a) of the
criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of
the federation of Nigeria 2004”.
Count 9: “That you Tony Amokeodo,
Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group
Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani
who is now at large, on the 3rd day
of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja
judicial division did conspire amongst
yourselves to commit felony to wit:
knowingly and fraudulently forge a
document titled bromide of the
presidential directive on the front of
LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day
of April, 2013 and thereby committed
an offence punishable under section
516 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C”
38 laws of the federation of Nigeria
2004”.
Count 10: “That you Tony Amokeodo,
Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group
Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani
who is now at large, on the 3rd day
of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja
judicial division did knowingly and
fraudulently forge a document titled
bromide of the presidential directive
on the front of LEADERSHIP
NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013
purporting to be the seal of the
president of the federal republic of
Nigeria as presidential directive and
thereby committed an offence
punishable under section 468 of the
criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of
the federation of Nigeria 2004.”