The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Friday, declined to strike out a seven-court terrorism charge filed against five loyalists of of River State governor, Siminlayi Fubara by the Inspector General of Police.
The court held that the charge was competent, adding that the police has the statutory powers to prosecute the defendants.
The defendants; Chime Eguma Ezebalike, Prince Lukman Oladele, Kenneth Goodluck Kpasa, Osiga Donald and Ochueja Thankgod, were on January 25, remanded at the Kuje prison in Abuja over an allegation that they were complicit in the invasion, vandalisation and burning down of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex.
When the charges were read to the defendants, they all pleaded not guilty.
Police alleged that during the political crisis that rocked the state in October last year, the suspects stormed the House of Assembly complex in a bid to stop an attempt to impeach the governor.
The suspects were in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/25/2024, equally accused of killing a Superintendent of Police, SP, Bako Agbashim and other five police informants at Ahoada community I Rivers State.
Names of three police informants that were allegedly killed by the defendants, were given as; Charles Osu, Ogbonna Eja, Idaowuka Felix, Paul Victor Chibuogu and Saturday Edi.
The prosecution equally accused the defendants of using various cult groups, namely; Degbam, Iceland, Greenland and Supreme Vikings Confraternity, to terrorise people of the state and disrupt their businesses.
However, at the resumed proceeding in the matter on Friday, two of the defendants, Ezebalike and Oladele, challenged the competence of the charge, arguing that the IGP lacked the locus standi to institute the action.
They urged the court to strike out the charge for constituting an abuse of the judicial process.
They further argued that under sections 3 and 74 of the Terrorism Prevention & Prohibition Act, TPPA, 2022, only the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, have the authority to institute such action against anyone.
While dismissing the preliminary objection on Friday, Justice Bolaji Olajuwodn held that in view of the provisions of section 174 of the TPPA 2022, the power to institute a criminal proceeding was not exclusively vested on the AGF.
The court held that the charge was competent, adding that the police has the statutory powers to prosecute the defendants.
Therefore, it dismissed the objections as lacking in merit.
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