By Correspondent in Lokoja.
The General Overseer, Calvary Love Ministry Church, Lokoja, Samson Abiodun,who has standing trial at a Chief Magistrate’s Court, Lokoja for four years on allegation of cheating on Thursday walked out of the Court as a free man due to lack deligent prosecution by the police.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the religious leader allegedly collected N1.5 m November 2017 to purchase a 50ft x 100ft plot of land in Lokoja for one Asala Stephen-Ropo.
The Report further said that sometime in January 2018 when Stephen-Ropo visited the place, he discovered that, without his consent, the religious leader had sold the same plot to another person.
FIR added that Asala Stephen-Ropo on May 9, 2018 then reported the case to the Police in Lokoja and subsequently, Abiodun was arraigned in court.
The Chief Magistrate, Beatrice Ezema, in her judgement, struck out the case for what she described as”lack of diligent prosecution” on the side the Police and expressed dismay over the manner the prosecution handled the case.
According to her, the police charged Abiodun with cheating on May 9, 2018, the matter has been heard by five other Magistrates,including herself, for over four years, yet nothing tangible has been done about it.
The magistrate said:“One amazing thing about this case is that, it has been lingering on from the time of my learned colleagues: Levi Ndah-Animoku, O. Alupka, A.O. Ayiniwero, H.O.Haruna and now my very self, yet it is still at the hearing stage.
“Surprisingly too, today, when the matter came up for hearing, the prosecution counsels were still saying that they were not ready to continue with the hearing.This goes to show the lack of seriousness on the part of the prosecution. But all the same, Justice is a two-way traffic.
“It is on this note that this case is hereby struck out for lack of diligent prosecution. The accused is hereby discharged.”
Our Correspondent recalls that when the matter came up for hearing, the prosecution Counsel, Miss Bose Briamoh, told the court that the prosecution was not ready to proceed with the matter.
She said that though matter was slated for hearing on Thursday, the prosecution could not continue due to some hitches confronting it, adding that efforts were being made to “put our house in order”.
Braimo, however, said that the offence against the cleric contravened the provisions of Section 322 of the Penal Code Law of Kogi and asked the court for another day to enable the prosecution commence the hearing of the case properly.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
