Tag: Court

Rabiu-Rangers Abdullahi, a witness, on Monday, told the Federal High Court in Abuja how David Daure, the 2nd defendant in the trial of an Abuja-based lawyer and three other social media influencers attempted to use minister’s name to defraud Sen. Shehu Umar Buba.

Abdullahi, the 2nd prosecution witness (PW-2), stated this before Justice Rita Offili-Ajumogobia while being led in evidence-in-chief by Leyii Abueh, counsel for the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).

The AGF and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, had, in December 2025, taken over the prosecution of the matter from the Inspector General (I-G) of Police.

Ahmed Abdulrahman (1st defendant) and his co-defendants were initially being prosecuted by the I-G.

The I-G, in the 11-count charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/526/2025 and filed by Anthony Egwu on Oct. 6, 2025, named David Daure, Ishaq Muhammed, Abdulrashid Musa and Nasir Abubakar as 2nd to 5th defendants respectively.

The defendants were, on Oct. 30, 2025, arraigned on 11-count charge which also bordered on alleged cybercrime, defamation, advance fee fraud, among others.

They, however, pleaded not guilty to the counts and they were remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre before they were admitted to bail.

Giving his evidence on Monday, the witness, who said he is a businessman and a politician from Bauchi State, said he got to know Daure about five years ago through Facebook.

“He is my friend on Facebook. He has my phone number and I have his number too. We communicate day in, day out.

“On 8th September, 2025, on his Facebook handle, he wrote that there is a protest that will take place in London, Charterhouse about Senator Shehu Buba, that he is sponsoring terrorism in Nigeria,” he said.

The PW-2 said because Daure knew that he was close to Sen. Buba, he sent him the screenshot of the message on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.

“And he said the protest will be on Friday (Sept 12, 2025) and that he knows the organiser of the protest.

“He asked me where I was so that he could come and meet me and I told him to come to a place, where they sell meat,” he said.

The witness said when Daure came to him, he asked him who was organising the protest “and he said his name is George Onmonya.”

According to Abdullahi, I asked him who is sponsoring it and he said it is a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and his name is Yusuf Maitama Tuggar.

“I asked him what do you want me to do now and he said I should talk to Senator Buba.

“But I called his (senator’s) S.A. (Special Assistant) on Security, his name is Danladi and he said he (Daure) would be investigated whether the whole thing was a plan to dupe us.”

The witness said the lawmaker’s S.A. on Security later informed him after investigation that there was no protest at London Charterhouse and that Daure was lying.

He said George Onmonya alleged that the minister gave them 10, 000 pounds to organise the protest.

Abdullahi said Danladi then requested Daure’s phone number from him and he started communicating directly with the 2nd defendant.

“Daure and S.A. started talking and Daure asked for 10, 000 pounds but it was reduced to N5 million.

“Daure started calling me in order to collect the money and I started recording him.

“I took all the conversations with Daure and sent it to the S.A. on Security.

“Daure asked me on Thursday to send the money so that he could talk to the organisers of the protest because it was fixed for Friday,” he narrated.

The witness told the court that an arrangement was later made to pay Daure the N5 million and that when he arrived at the scene, he was arrested.

“That is all that I know,” he said.

Under cross-examination, Abdul Mohammed, SAN, who appeared for 1st defendant (Abdulrahman), sought to tender the two statements made by the witness to the police in evidence and they were admitted in evidence and marked as exhibits.

When he was asked if he must have exaggerated the naration, the witness said: “I didn’t have any reason to exaggerate anything. I only said the exact thing that happened.”

When he was asked if it was the exact things that happened that he told the police, the witness responded in affirmative.

When the lawyer asked him to go though the statement he made and tell the court where he wrote that “Daure screenshot the message and sent to him,” the witness admitted it was not in his statement.

The witness denied calling Daure on phone in order to have physical meeting with him.

Rather, Abdullahi said it was Daure that sent a message to him to ask his whereabouts.

After all the lawyers to the defendants cross-examined the PW-2, the witness was discharged from the witness box and the judge adjourned the matter until Feb..10 for continuation of trial.

In count one, the defendants were alleged to have, sometime in 2025, conspired among themselves “to commit an offence, to wit; cyberstalking against Senator Shehu Buba Umar.”

The offence is said to be contrary to Section 27(1)(b) and punishable under Section 21(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc.) Act 2015 (as amended) 2024.

In count three, Abdulrahman was alleged to have, sometime in 2025, intentionally sent a video via his Tiktok handle with user name “Kibanna Channel” and his Youtube channel to defame the lawmaker by linking him to sponsorship of banditry with a view to tarnishing his image as a serving Senator.

The suspect was alleged to have stated that “Senator Umar, a serving Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a sponsor of banditry and called for his investigation, a statement you made by means of computer systems and network knowing same to be false, for the purpose of causing breakdown of law and order and causing the Senator fear of death”.

The offence Is also said to be contrary to Section 24(1)(5) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act 2015 (as amended) 2024, among other counts, among others.

 

The National Industrial Court, on Monday, restrained the workers, under the auspices of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), from going ahead with the mass protest scheduled for Tuesday or any other day.

Justice Emmanuel Sibilim issued the interim order in a ruling on an ex-parte motion filed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and the FCT Administration (FCTA) against the Labour Unions and their leaders.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that others joined in the motion alongside NLC and TUC include Comrades Benson Upah, General N.A Toro, and Stephen Knabayi.

The motion, dated Feb. 2, stemmed from a suit marked: NICN/ABJ/30/26, which was filed by James Onoja, SAN, on behalf of minister and the FCTA.

After listening to the claimants, Justice Sibilim granted the interim order restraining the 1st to 5th respondents and their privies or agents from embarking on strike pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The judge also ordered the 5th-9th defendants who are security agencies to ensure there is no break down of law and order and adjourned the matter until Feb. 10 for hearing of the motion on notice.

The claimants had told the court that the Chairman of the FCT council of the workers’ Union had sent a message of mobilisation to members and affiliated unions for a mass protest scheduled for Feb. 3.

The move, the lawyer submitted, was in violation of the orders of the court.

Onoja stated that after the ruling of the court on Jan. 27, the order of the court was served on the defendants same day but that the NLC and TUC issued a statement to all affiliated unions to intensify and sustain the strike.

The statement jointly signed by both unions directed that the striking workers should resume the strike as the unions’ counsel, Femi Falana, SAN, had filed an appeal against the interlocutory ruling.

He said following the development, the FCTA workers, under the Joint Union Action Committee (JUAC), issued a circular directing all employees to continue the strike.

“This position is aimed at causing break down of law and order in the nations capital,” Onoja said.

The FCT Minister and the FCTA had predicated the application on the fact that “On the 19th of January, 2026, the workers in the employment of the 2nd claimant, acting under the aegis of the Joint Unions Action Committee (JUAC), commenced an industrial action by locking all entrance to offices and the secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, including closure of schools and all departments and agencies of the 2nd claimant, thereby, bringing the governmental functions and activities of the claimants to a standstill.

“Being law abiding, the claimants herein instituted an action at the National Industrial Court Abuja, in Suit No: NICN/ABJ/17/2026, between the FCT Minister & anor V. Rifkatu Iortyer & anor, wherein the court on the 27th of January, 2026 made an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants therein JUAC, its affiliate unions, and all employees of the 2nd claimant were restrained from further embarking on any industrial action, and ordered to resume work pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”

 

 

A prosecution witness, SP Joel Nimfa, on Thursday, testified before the Federal High Court in Abuja in the ongoing case involving Erisco Foods Limited and the defendant, Chioma Okoli.

 

Nimfa who is the second prosecution witness (PW2), told the court that he was attached to the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit, now known as the Police Monitoring Unit at the Force Headquarters.

 

He also told the court that he knew the defendant because he led the team that investigated the matter.

 

He said the petition was assigned to his unit and that he personally led the investigation team to Lagos, where the defendant was arrested.

 

According to the witness, after the defendant was brought to Abuja, she was asked to write and publish a letter of apology.

 

He alleged that although Okoli wrote the letter, she failed to publish it on her Facebook page as instructed.

 

SP Nimfa told the court that the management of Erisco Foods made several attempts to reach the defendant through phone calls but received no response.

 

He said this led the complainant to return to the police to report that the defendant had failed to comply with the agreement to publish the apology.

 

The witness further testified that the complainant, expressed fear for his life, stating that he did not know who might have collaborated with the defendant to damage his business.

 

He said there were widespread online campaigns allegedly led by the defendant and her associates, calling on members of the public to boycott Erisco Foods’ products.

 

During the investigation, SP Nimfa said the police discovered that Erisco Foods was a duly registered company with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and that its products were approved by relevant regulatory bodies.

 

“These include the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency,” he said.

 

He explained that it was standard investigative procedure to verify the registration and certification status of companies involved in such complaints, adding that all the agencies confirmed that Erisco Foods’ products were safe and posed no health risk.

 

The witness said the information and documents relied upon during the investigation were provided by the complainant and further verified through online inquiries.

He listed the documents to include the complainant’s statement, screenshots of NAFDAC and SON certificates, Lagos State Consumer Protection certificates, screenshots of online posts calling for a boycott of Erisco Foods’ products, all accompanied by a certificate of compliance.

 

Nimfa also testified that a protest, which he described as riotous, took place in front of the Erisco Foods premises, where protesters repeatedly hit the company’s gate.

 

He said photographs of the incident were submitted to the investigating unit.

 

According to him, it was presumed that the protest was organised by the defendant, adding that the protesters were chanting slogans calling for the defendant to be left alone while urging the public to boycott Erisco Foods’ products.

 

The witness further told the court that the petition against the defendant was written by one Nnamdi Nwokolo on behalf of Erisco Foods Limited.

 

He also said that the defendant’s failure to provide evidence to support her negative review of the product formed a major part of the case.

 

According to him, the defendant could not provide evidence of the specific product she claimed to have used.

 

He said she told investigators that she tasted the product and asked her husband to do the same, but neither could consume it, and no sample of the alleged harmful product was provided for analysis.

 

The witness further informed the court that the defendant appeared on a television programme where she claimed she was poor and alleged that the company owner and the police were intimidating her because of her status.

 

The trial judge, Justice Peter Lifu subsequently adjourned the matter until February 24, 25 and 26 for the prosecution to close its case.

 

Okoli is facing a two-count charge bordering on cybercrime.

 

She was sued over a Facebook post she shared on Sept. 17, 2023, in which she claimed she bought Nagiko Tomato Mix from Erisco Foods and found it “utterly sugary.”