Voice Olukoya Ogungbeje has proved to be exceptional as he stepped out on Wednesday to defend notorious billionaire
kidnapper, Evans.
According to the News Agency Of Nigeria, NAN, Ogungbeje who heads Lawflex
Chambers and is the Chairman of Voice
Vanguard, filed a fundamental rights suit on
behalf of Evans, by dragging the Inspector
General of Police, and three others before a
Federal High Court in Lagos over Evans
alleged illegal detention.
Read the full details below:
Just when Nigerians thought no lawyer
will step out to defend notorious
billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudumeme
Onwuamadike a.k.a. Evans, Voice
Olukoya Ogungbeje has proven an
exception.
Ogungbeje who heads Lawflex
Chambers and is the Chairman of Voice
Vanguard, stepped out Wednesday.
He grabbed the headlines as he filed a
fundamental rights suit on behalf of
Evans, by dragging the Inspector General
of Police, and three others before a
Federal High Court in Lagos over Evans
alleged illegal detention .
Joined as respondents are the Nigeria
Police Force, Commissioner of Police
Lagos State, and the Special Anti-
Robbery Squad, Lagos State Police
Command.
In his fundamental rights the confessed
kidnapper is seeking a court order
directing the respondents to
immediately charge him to court if there
is any case against him.
He is in the alternative, seeking an order,
compelling the respondents to
immediately release him unconditionally
in the absence of any offence
warranting a charged.
In the suit marked, FHC/L/CS/1012/2017,
Evans is contending that his continued
detention by the respondents since June
10, without a charge, or release on bail
is an infringement on his fundamental
rights.
He argued that the respondents ought
to have charged him to court in
accordance with the provisions of
Sections 35 and 36 of the Constitution.
It was further argued that the alleged
offence committed by the applicant
(Evans) are correspondingly intertwined
with the constitutional safeguards as
provided under Sections 35 and 36 of
the Constitution.
In a 27-paragraph affidavit in support of
the motion deposed to by Evan’s father,
Stephen Onwuamadike, it was averred
that the applicant has been subjected to
media trial without any court’s order by
the respondents.
Onwuamadike further averred that the
media trial and news orchestrated by
the respondents have continued to
generate reactions in both print and
electronic media without his son being
afforded fair hearing before a court of
law.
The deponent also averred that since his
son’s arrest, all his family members have
been denied access to him while media
practitioners have been granted
unfettered access to him.
The new suit has not been assigned to
any judge and no date has been fixed
for the hearing.
Evans lawyer, who identified himself on
Facebook as Voice Olukoya Ogungbeje
had been involved in controversial cases
in recent times.
In April, he filed a suit asking the Federal
High Court to stay proceedings on the
forfeiture of $43,449,947 (about
N13billion), N23,218,000 and £27,800
(about N10.6 million) found in a flat in
Ikoyi, Lagos.
He also sought an order directing the
Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) to furnish the court
with a report of its preliminary or final
investigation on the source of the
money, its owner, and how the
currencies got into the building.
Ogungbeje, in a motion on notice asked
the court not to order a permanent
forfeiture of the money since there are
claims and counter claims as to its
ownership by the Rivers State
government and the National
Intelligence Agency (NIA)and since the
Federal Government had set up the
Osinbajo panel to find the truth about
the ownership of the money.
“This honourable court has the inherent
jurisdiction under Section 6 (6)(b) of the
Constitution to order and direct
thorough investigation on the sources
of the monies, their owners, the owners
of the Osborne Towers where the
monies were found and how they got
into the building.
The case did not get anywhere as the
money was later permanently forfeited
to the Federal Government.
