A property developer, Cecil Osakwe, has told Justice Samira Bature of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, that the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, Mohammed Babandoko is persecuting him because of his property.
Osakwe, who raised the alarm in the open court on Thursday, told the judge that the DPP has filed five different charges against him at different courts
Osakwe and others were to be arraigned over alleged illegal eviction of Asabe Waziri, a staff of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, from his property located at No. 1 Mekong Close, Maitama, Abuja
When the case came up, one of the defendants, Victor Giwa, was not in court as he was said to be bereaved and could not make it to the proceedings.
In the same vein, counsel to Osakwe, Chinese Odiru, announced his withdrawal from the case. According to Odiru, he was instructed by his principal to withdraw from the matter.
At that point, Justice Bature asked Osakwe to respond to what his counsel who just announced his withdrawal said.
Osakwe, in his response, told the court that he is being persecuted by the DPP over the said property.
He said, “My lord, I am a lawyer, I was called to Nigerian Bar in 1991, I worked with one of the best law firms in Nigeria, the law firm of late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN. I know when a person is being persecuted rather than being prosecuted.
“The DPP has been working with Asabe Waziri to persecute me. Five different charges have been filed against me and my lawyer in different courts. The Attorney-General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has called for a review of this case but the file was not released.”
The counsel who appeared in the matter on behalf of the DPP, Matthew Onah, stood up to object to Osakwe’s submission of Osakwe
Onah said it is not true that the DPP is persecuting the defendant.
At that point, Justice Bature called the parties to order and told them to calm down, assuring that all sides will be heard in the matter after arraignment takes place.
But the arraignment could not go ahead on Wednesday due to the absence of Giwa and a policeman who are also defendants in the matter.
Justice Bature adjourned the matter to November 4, 2025 for arraignment.
