By Haruna Salami
Justice Peter Kekemeke of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has dismissed the forgery charge instituted against senior lawyer, Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN.
The decision followed the withdrawal of the charge by the Federal Government.
The case was originally filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) after a judgment delivered by a London court concerning a property linked to former FCT Minister, the late Jeremiah Useni.
When the matter came up last month for arraignment, the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation applied to take over the prosecution of the case to ensure effective handling.
At Tuesday’s resumed proceedings, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, informed the court that after reviewing the case file, he had received instructions from the Attorney-General of the Federation to withdraw the charge for further directives.
Oyedepo stated that the application for withdrawal was made pursuant to Section 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
Counsel to the defendant, Chief Paul Erokoro, SAN, told the court that the defence did not oppose the application.
In a brief ruling, Justice Kekemeke held that since the application was not contested, it was granted. The charge was accordingly withdrawn and dismissed.
