N120bn bribe
— 29th November 2017
From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The
Federal Government has amended criminal charges against Senator Isah
Misau, before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
sitting at Maitama, by increasing the counts from five to seven.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) has
engaged a private prosecutor to handle the case, on behalf of
government.
Misau, who represents Bauchi Central
Senatorial District, is facing trial for allegedly making “injurious
falsehood” against the Inspector General of Police, (IGP) Mr. Ibrahim
Idris, and the Nigerian Police Force.
In the said charge marked
FCT/HC/CR/345/2017, the FG listed some of the “injurious falsehood” it
said the defendant made, to include allegations that police officers
paid as much as N2.5million to get special promotion and posting through
the Police Service Commission.
The charge was a direct fallout of
allegations Misau, who himself is a retired deputy superintendent of
police, raised against the IGP.
Misau was charged for alleging that the
police boss diverted money meant for the purchase of Armoured Personnel
Carriers, Sport Utility Vehicles and other exotic cars. He was said to
have falsely accused the IGP of making almost half of mobile police
commanders in the country, people of his Nupe extraction.
The lawmaker, aside accusing the IGP of
instituting roadblocks accross Nigeria, with the purpose of extorting
money from unsuspecting motorists, equally alleged that the police boss
had sexual affair with female police officers. Misau further alleged
that the IGP collects illegal fees by way of security protections given
to corporate organizations, eminent citizens and oil companies running
into billions of Naira.
The AGF maintained that the lawmaker had,
by his utterances, committed an offence contrary to Section 393(1) of
the Penal Code. Meanwhile, at the resumed proceeding on the case, the
new prosecutor, Dr. Alex Iziyon (SAN) told the court that the AGF issued
him a fiat to handle the trial and, to also apply for a subpoena that
was issued to compel the IGP to appear as a witness in the matter to be
quashed.
Iziyon insisted that the said subpoena
dated November 22, amounted to an abuse of court process, saying it was
targeted at embarrassing the IGP.
However, Misau’s lawyer, Dr. Joshua Musa,
SAN, challenged the legal validity of the amended charge FG filed
against his client. He equally contended that the initial charge upon
which his client was docked and granted N5million bail on October 19 was
legally defective as it was bereft of the required seal. Musa argued
that in the face of such default, the initial charge could not be
amended. On the issue of subpoena aganst the IGP, the defence lawyer
maintained that no law prohibited his client from applying for the
police boss to appear as a witness to give evidence and tender documents
in the matter. After he had listened to all the parties, the Chief
Judge of the high court, Justice Ishaq Bello, who is presiding over the
trial, fixed December 5 to hear all the pending applications. Meantime,
the two new allegations against Misau read: “That you Isah Hamman Misau
of Hamman Misau Residence, Turaki Street, Misau, Bauchi State on or
about 26th August, 2017 at Abuja and other part of Nigeria, within the
jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, did make a false statement of fact
to wit: that the Inspector-General of Police is scoring high marks by
making almost half of the mobile commanders in the country, people of
his Nupe extraction which said false statement of fact was published in
the This Day Newspaper and The Punch Newspaper both dated 26th August,
2017, knowing that such false statement of fact would harm the
reputation of Mr. Ibrahim Kpotun Idris (the serving Inspector-General of
Police) and the Nigeria Police Force and you thereby committed an
offence. “That you Isah Hamman Misau of Hamman Misau Residence, Turaki
Street, Misau, Bauchi State on or about 26th August, 2017 at Abuja and
other part on Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court,
did make a false statement of fact wit: that the incumbent
Inspector-General of Police, based on available records, series of
petitions and reports from insiders, has no capacity to run the Police
just like the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Rtd IGP Mike
Okiro, who also lacks similar capacity going N300 million scam and
others hanging on his neck since 2011 during the presidential primary
election of the People’s Democratic Party where he served as the head of
the security committee which said false statement of fact was published
in the Thisday Newspaper and the Punch Newspaper both dated 26th
August, 2017 knowing that such false statement of fact would harm the
reputation of Mr. Ibrahim Kpotun Idris (the serving Inspector-General of
Police), Rtd IGP Mike Okiro, the Nigeria Police Force and the Police
Service Commission and you thereby committed an offence”.