Police Can’t Be Restrained From Investigating & Prosecuting Alleged Crimes, Court Tells Lawyers Accused Of Share Theft & Falsification
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has dismissed a suit filed by two lawyers, Jama Onwubuariri and Joseph Iwunze, seeking to stop the Police from prosecuting them over allegations of stealing of shares and falsification of company register.
The two lawyers and their company, Truck Tech Platform Ltd, had dragged the Inspector General of Police, IGP; Commissioner of Police, Lagos State; Officer in Charge, Monitoring Unit, Lagos Police Command and a shareholder of the company, Temidayo Adeboye, before the court alleging that they were attempting to arrest and prosecute them over a matter they described as purely civil.
The two lawyers in the suit sought an order restraining the Police from arresting, detaining or prosecuting them pending the determination of a civil suit filed by Adeboye and other shareholders of the company over the redistribution of shares forfeited by another shareholder, Adewale Matthew.
Delivering judgment in the matter, Justice D.E. Osaigor held that the Police cannot be restrained from performing their constitutional duties of investigating an alleged crime and prosecuting anyone suspected to be involved in such crime on the ground that a civil matter is pending before a court.
Justice Osaigor noted that from the exhibit tendered before him by the 4th defendant, Adeboye, the Police had already concluded its investigation and recommended that the two lawyers be charged to court for forgery, falsification and other fraud.
The judge noted that the protection of fundamental human rights sought by the two lawyers is not absolute as the Police on the establishment of the commission of a crime, reversed the right to take steps to arrest and prosecute suspects in the matter.
