The police authorities on Thursday arraigned Precious Chikwendu, the estranged wife of former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode for allegations bordering on cybercrime.
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Chikwendu, was arraigned before Justice Obiora Egwuatu the Abuja division of the Federal High Court on five-count charge.
She, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge after it was read to her.
Victor Okoye, counsel to the Inspector-General of Police, the prosecution in the case, prayed the court for a date to commence the trial and to remand Chikwendu in Kuje Prison, pending the hearing and determination of the matter.
But Alex Ejesieme, SAN, who was counsel to Chikwendu, disagreed with Okoye’s request.
“I am surprised that counsel Is making this funny application,” Ejesieme said.
“What I’d funny about it,” the judge asked, directing him to move his application.
The senior lawyer told the court that he had filed an application for bail and that the prosecution had been served.
He said the prosecution only served them with a counter affidavit yesterday (Wednesday) and he had replied with a further affidavit and a reply on points of law this morning.
He said the late service was a ploy by the prosecution to have his client remand in prison.
Ejesieme argued that the prayer that Chikwendu should be remanded in prison was uncalled for since she had never breached the terms of the administrative bail granted her by the police.
“That is why I am saying it is funny since the defendant has been on administrative bail,” he said.
Besides, he said Chikwendu is a mother of four, urging the court to admit the defendants to bail based on the earlier administrative bail granted her by the police.
Okoye, in disagreeing with Ejesieme, said he filed a counter affidavit and urged the court to refuse the bail application.
He argued that Chikwendu had conducted herself in a way that undermined criminal justice act, citing Paragraphs 5 to 9 of his counter affidavit.
Okoye said even when the charge was already in court, the defendant (Chikwendu) had been making publications to suggest that the criminal administration act was bias.
He urged the court to exercise its discretion in favour of the prosecution.
He described Chikwendu’s averments as extraneous, especially the matrimonial claim.
In a counter affidavit deposed to by Joseph Kantoma, an officer in the Legal Department of the Police Force Headquarters, Okoye urged the court to refuse the bail application.
He said most of the 16 paragraphs in the affidavit attached to the bail motion by the defendant were false and misleading.
The officer argued that contrary to paragraph 8 of the applicant (Chikwendu)’s affidavit, she failed to appear before the court on Jan. 24 when the case was slated for arraignment having been served with the charge, “and more so, the defendant is suspected to still be engaging in criminal activities in the similitude to the one she is charged with herein necessitating further investigation into the activities of the defendant.”
Okoye stated that refusing the bail application would not impair the defendant’s preparation for her trial in the case as she would always have access to her counsel.
He argued that paragraph 11 of the bail application was “false and misleading as the case before the court is a case bordering on cybercrime offences and punishable by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly the Cybercrimes Prohibition and Offences Act.”
Okoye, while urging the court to dismiss Chikwendu’s bail plea, said the prosecution was ready to prosecute the case expeditiously “and all the witnesses are within jurisdiction.”
The judge, who admitted Chikwendu to bail in the terms earlier granted by the police, adjourned the matter until June 7 for trial commencement.
Chikwendu, an ex-beauty queen, was, on Feb. 14, docked before a sister court presided over by Justice Inyang Ekwo for attempted murder of her former husband, Fani-Kayode.
The police charged before Justice Inyang Ekwo with attempted culpable homicide .
In a charge number: FHCABJ/CR/1/2022 filed by the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, against Chikwendu and three others, the ex-wife was said to have attempted to stab Fani-Kayode with a kitchen knife on Nov. 24, 2018 at Asokoro, within the court jurisdiction.
Others arraigned alongside Chikwendu in the 13-count charge dated and filed Jan. 7 include Emmanuel Anakan, Prisca Chikwendu and Osakwe Azubuike as 1st, 3rd and 4th defendants respectively, while other are said to be at large.
They, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Justice Ekwo had fixed April 27, April 28 and April 29 for trial commencement.
Chikwendu, who was accused of infidelity by the former minister, was also said to have withdrawn various civil cases filed against Fani-Kayode.
Although the duo had parted ways, the former minister said Chikwendu had always been given access to her children under closed supervision due to her alleged mental challenges which could result to hurting the children.
The former minister had also alleged that Chikwendu stopped calling the children on telephone for about seven months now contrary to her habit in the past.
The ex-wife’s arraignment in an alleged defamation of character suit filed against her by former Senator, Mrs Grace Bent, on Jan. 24, before Justice Egwuatu was stalled due to her absence in court.
An Abuja Magistrate Court in Wuse Zone 2 had, recently, restrained the ex-wife from making comments that could lead to the identification of children whose custody issues had been submitted before it for determination.
