A n Abuja High Court sitting in Maitama has issued a summons on a former governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, compelling him to appear before it on 11th November, 2020 for arraignment on a threecount criminal charge filed against him by the Inspector General of Police (IG). The court’s summons was contained in a hearing notice issued pursuant to Order 3 Rule 7 of the FCT High Court and dated 30th October, 2020.
According to the notice, Ohakim was commanded to appear in court number 32 for arraignment over alleged fraud. The trial judge is Justice S. U. Bature.
In the charge marked, FCT/HC/CR/993/2020, the police alleged that Ohakim, who was governor of Imo State from 2007 to 2011, gave false information against Lady Chinyere Amuchienwa. The prosecution further alleged that Ohakim lied that the lady threatened him with a gun and equally made a false claim that he had a plot of land for sale in Lagos.
The three-count charge was signed by Stanley Nwodo of the Force Legal Department dated 23rd September, 2020. The prosecution also accused Ohakim of using the name of the Minsiter of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians. In addition, the prosecution alleged that Ohakim claimed in his statement to the police that he gave Lady Amuchienwa the sum of N100 million for his governorship in 2019 which he would not prove in the statement. Earlier attempts by the police to arraign the former governor in court over similar charge were unsuccessful.
The three-count charge reads: “That you Ikedi Ohakim, on or about May 23, 2019 at Asokoro, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did unlawfully gave false information against one Chinyere Amuchienwa, that she threatened you with gun knowing it to be false and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 140 of the Penal Code Law of the North-ern Nigeria, 1968.
“That you Ikedi Ohakim, on or about May 23, 2019, at Asokoro, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did unlawfully gave false information against one Chinyere Amuchienwa, that you have a plot of land for sale at Lagos State, knowing it to be false and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 140 of the Penal Code Law of the Northern Nigeria, 1968.”
