The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, declined the motion to dismiss a seven-count terrorism charge brought by the Inspector General of Police against five supporters of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State.
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.
Police alleged that the defendants had in the wake of the political crisis that rocked the state in October last year, invaded the House of Assembly complex in a bid to frustrate an attempt to impeach the governor.
They 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.
The defendants, specifically Ezebalike and Oladele, contested the charge’s competency, arguing that only the Attorney-General of the Federation had the authority under sections 3 and 74 of the Terrorism Prevention & Prohibition Act, TPPA, 2022, to institute such actions.
They asserted that security agencies, like the police, should handle intelligence gathering and investigation. Despite their objections, Justice Bolaji Olajuwodn dismissed the preliminary objection, emphasizing that section 174 of the TPPA 2022 did not exclusively vest the power to institute criminal proceedings in the AGF.
The court deemed the charge competent, asserting the police’s statutory powers to prosecute. The objections were consequently dismissed as lacking merit, and Justice Olajuwon stated that she would rule on the defendants’ bail applications on Monday.