ILORIN, Nigeria — A fraud case involving the sale of a $400,000 oil vessel, Chief Magistrate Ibrahim Mohammed of an Ilorin Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, August 15, 2023, declined a termination request from the Police headquarters in Abuja.
The defendants, Esther Shehu and David Kpanaki, are accused of the fraudulent sale of the vessel to Alhaji Kamoru Yusuf, the proprietor of Kam Steel Holdings Limited.
Both were previously remanded in custody on allegations of conspiracy to defraud the complainant. The court had previously set August 31, 2023, as the hearing date.
During proceedings, the Police Prosecutor, Nasir Yusuf, indicated an inability to proceed, citing a directive from the state Officer-in-Charge Legal, Mr. Timothy Ajibola.
This order for termination stemmed from a letter received from the Force Headquarters in Abuja, compelling the termination of the case and the transfer of the defendants, alongside the case diary, to Abuja.
The letter, tendered as evidence, was accepted by the court.
Though the defense counsel, Mashood Abdulkadir, voiced no objections to the decision, he did express his discontent.
In contrast, the complainant’s counsel, Mr. Ahmed Tafa, openly opposed the termination, branding the turn of events as “strange”.
Delivering his ruling, Magistrate Mohammed indicated his reservations about ending the case due to its history.
He pointedly said, “The investigation before me has not been controverted, and I am threatened by the level of applications filed by the (prosecutor).”
Highlighting the court’s primary role in the case’s instigation, he asked, “So on what basis would you order the termination of a case that was instituted at the instance of the court in the first place?”
Mohammed further emphasized that the Kwara Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, already determined that the defendants have a case to answer. If the Police sought termination, they should approach the DPP, not the court.
Concluding the day’s proceedings, Mohammed adjourned the case to August 18, 2023, to decide on the termination motion.
He also reaffirmed the August 31, 2023, date for the bail determination of the defendants.
