Court orders EFCC to investigate police lawyer in Stella Oduah's case
Ibrahim Mohammed, the prosecutor representing the Nigeria Police Force in a criminal case against former Minister of Aviation Senator Stella Adaeze Oduah, has been handed over to the EFCC by the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja.
The lawyer is being investigated for filing criminal charges against the former Minister, in the name of the EFCC, without authorisation from the anti-graft agency.
Recall that Oduah was taken to court over an eight-count criminal charge, including allegations of document fabrication, conspiracy to commit a felony, and other offenses.
What happened in court
The controversy started Mohammed, announced his appearance for the Nigeria Police Force. He informed the court that the defendant, Stella Oduah, was absent as the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) said she was indisposed.
The issue: The judged oberved and questioned why the signatory on the prosecutor’s case was that of an EFCC officer. In a failed attempt to convince, Mohammed explained that 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 questioned the reasoning behind prosecutor’s dicey 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.
