Absent defendant stalls forgery trial
The arraignment of two lawyers and a real estate developer was stalled yesterday at Lagos State High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square due to absence of one of the defendants, who took ill.
Adebayo Akeju, partner at Adon Partners; Ademola Owolabi, managing partner of Ademola Adetokunbo & Co.; and real estate developer, Alex Ochonogor, are facing a five-count charge of conspiracy to commit forgery, forgery, and destruction of property.
Director of Public Prosecution, Dr. Babajide Martins, appeared for the state. Dr. Abiodun Layonu represented the first defendant, A.A. Durojaiye for the second, and Tony Ejere, for the third defendant.
Ejere said Ochonogor could not attend due to a medical emergency and requested an adjournment.
Martins did not oppose, saying: “The defendant needs to be alive to stand trial.”
Justice Serifat Sonaike granted the adjournment and ordered that Ochonogor must appear at the next hearing.
A mild altercation occurred when a defendant allegedly assaulted The Guardian man, Ayodele Adeniran, who wanted to take his photograph.
The journalist was dragged, and only released after showing his camera to prove that no pictures had been taken.
The defendants, in the case filed by the state, allegedly conspired in 2015 to forge an affidavit of loss and a demolition notice, purportedly issued by Lagos State Lands Bureau, to falsely claim that a Certificate of Occupancy issued to one Hamza Al-Mustapha was missing.
They also allegedly forged a memorandum of loss for the same document and willfully demolished a bungalow at Plot 10, Block 133, Lekki Peninsula Residential Scheme I said to belong to Dr. Obidigwe Eze, a Nigerian residing abroad.
