By Vivian Innocent
Former federal lawmaker and socialite, Prince Ned Nwoko has debunked as” false” and deliberate attempt to get public “sympathy” the news making the rounds that a lawyer, Abubakar Marshal was arrested by the police in Abuja for filling a matter against him in court, rather Prince Nwoko stated that the embattled lawyer was picked up by police and later remanded in prison for misconduct.
Nwoko who spoke through his lawyer, Bryan Ukaegbu called on the public to discountenance the news published on Omoyele Sowore’s Sahara Reporters as a fake news primarily aimed at misinforming the public.
Nwoko’s lawyer in a press statement issued in Abuja this weekend explained that Mr. Omoyele Sowore was earlier invited by the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to answer to a petition bordering on “criminal acts of defamation of character, injurious falsehood, criminal intimidation, cyber stalking” written against him by lawyers of Prince Nwoko.
According to Ukaegbu, Sowore’s lawyer, Abubakar Marshal willingly and knowingly decided to aid his client to run away from justice when against the ethics of the legal profession he decided to stand surety for his client, Sowore. Ukaegbu explained that, Abubakar Marshal subsequently refused to produce his client to help police investigation which led to him (Abubakar Marshal) being taking in by the police and subsequent arraignment in court.
The statement reads in part:
“To start from the beginning, Mr Omoyele Sowore was invited by the office of the Inspector General of Police to answer to a Petition written by the Solicitors to Hon.Prince Ned Nwoko, the law firm of TRIFOLD LAW AND PARTNERS. The petition bordered on criminal acts of defamation of character, injurious falsehood, criminal intimidation, cyber stalking etc. against Hon Prince Dr. Ned Munir Nwoko and targeted at rubbing his name to the mud, tarnishing his reputation contrary to extant provisions of the Penal Code and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“As mentioned above and customarily, Mr Sowore was invited by the Nigerian Police Force to give a statement on the claims made in the Petition but he refused to honour the invitation. This led to his arrest wherein he still refused to give any statement. Apart from his refusal to give a statement regarding the claims against him, under the law, he was to remain in custody until he is either charged to Court or he fulfills the Police Bail conditions. Consequently, his lawyer, one Marshal Abubakar chose to stand as surety for bail for Mr Sowore and he, the lawyer assured the Police to produce Mr Sowore on the next date slated for continuation of the investigation. Now on the said date, neither Mr Sowore nor his lawyer, Abubakar were in attendance at the Police Station. They had been at large since then and it became clear that the lawyer was interfering with the investigations of the Police. Consequently, it then became very necessary to arrest the lawyer in order to get him to produce his client.
“With these in full perspective, I put across these posers to-wit: Was the lawyer to Mr Omoyele Sowore right when he stood as a surety on bail for his client? Was the lawyer justified to help his Client escape Police investigation and becoming a fugitive or absconder from a lawful arrest?
“The Rules of Professional conduct for Legal Practitioners is against Lawyers aiding their clients to disobey the law or duly constituted authorities e.g the Nigerian Police Force (See Rule 3 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers that is instructive to the following fact and I quote:
“In his representation of his client, a lawyer shall not —– (a) give service or advice to the client which he knows or ought reasonably to know is capable of causing disloyalty to, or breach of, the law, or bringing disrespect to the holder of a judicial office, or involving corruption of holders of any public …”
“I think it is trite to say that the police cannot and have no right whatsoever to arrest anyone for filing a law suit against another in application to the court to determine whether a right exists or not or whether or not it has been infringed upon. Abubakar Marshall (Esq.) with all due respect, acted unprofessionally and motu propriori (on a frolic of his own) when he stood as a surety for his client as he ought to have known that:
“(a) Lawyers are admonished from standing as surety for their client or anyone at all, as doing so opens one up to a lot of condescending issues that takes away from your prestige as lawyer e.g arrest, investigation, prosecution etc., as we do not and are not allowed by law to do so in order to prevent us from protracted litigations in a matter we are representing a client on or are seized on .
“(b) He ought not to stand bail where he knows or has reasons to believe that his client was or is intending to jump police bail.
(c) He ought to have either procured a surety or bonds person where no surety exists as is permissible by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 Laws of the Federation, Nigeria.
“So for the records, Abubakar Marshall, Esq. was not arrested because he filed a case in court against Prince Ned Nwoko seeking 200 million Naira, for the arrest of Mr Omoyele Sowore. Rather he was in-fact arrested for Standing as a surety for his CLIENT MR OMOLEYE SOWORE and FOR FAILING TO PRODUCE MR SOWORE TO THE POLICE WHENEVER HE WAS NEEDED.
“This is the TRUE PERSPECTIVE TO THE ISSUE. Anything short of the above are mere lies and fabrications to garner public sentiments and sway the mind of the public from the fact that Mr Omoyele Sowore committed a crime by going on a crusade of vilification and calumny and by publishing half truths about a Nigerian Citizen in the person of Prince Ned Munir Nwoko who had fundamental human rights enshrined and protected by the CFRN 1999(as amended) e.g ‘Right of Private Life’. Hence, Sowore must be investigated and charged to court for same and prosecuted accordingly.
