On April 16, 2013, Mr. Tony Amokeodo and Mr. Chibuizor Ukaibe, journalists with the Leadership newspaper who were detained by the Police on April 15, were charged before a Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, with 10 counts of conspiracy and forgery.
Amokeodo and Ukaibe were re-arrested and detained on 15 April 2013 by the Nigerian Police when they reported at the Police Force headquarters in compliance with part of the conditions of the bail granted them from their earlier arrest. They were taken to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) headquarters where their mobile phones were seized.
The bail conditions were over a previous detention of the journalists on April 8, 2013 over a news story in the Leadership newspaper titled “Outrage Trail Presidential Directive on Tinubu, APC”, which was published on April 3, 2013 and a full copy of the presidential directive, published on April 4 and captioned “Bromide of the Presidential Directive”.
The charges against the journalists are as follows:
Count 1: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: forging of document titled BROMIDE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE and place same on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, knowing it to be false and with the intent that it may in any way be used or acted upon as genuine and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 516 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004″.
Count 2: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did forged a document titled BROMIDE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE and place same on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, knowing it to be false and with the intent that it may in any way be used or acted upon as genuine and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 467 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004″.
Count 3: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: knowingly and fraudulently uttering a false document titled BROMIDE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE and place same on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, for the use/consumption of the general public and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 516 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004″.
Count 4: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did knowingly and fraudulently utter a false document titled BROMIDE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE and place same on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, for the use/consumption of the general public and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 468 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004″.
Count 5: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: forging/making a false document and placed same on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, having on it the seal, signet or sign manual which purports that it is from the president of the federal republic of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 516 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004″.
Count 6: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did forge/make a false document and placed same on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, having on it the seal, signet or sign manual which purports that it is from the president of the federal republic of Nigeria and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 467 (1)(b) of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004″.
Count 7: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: making a false document on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, having on it the seal, signet or sign manual which said forged document purports to be the signature of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria as presidential directive and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 516 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004″.
Count 8: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did make a false document on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013, having on it the seal, signet or sign manual which said forged document purports to be the signature of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria as presidential directive and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 467(3)(a) of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004″.
Count 9: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: knowingly and fraudulently forge a document titled bromide of the presidential directive on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013 and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 516 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004″.
Count 10: “That you Tony Amokeodo, Chibuzor Ukaibe, Leadership Group Limited and Taiwo Ogunmola Omilani who is now at large, on the 3rd day of April, 2013 at Abuja in the Abuja judicial division did knowingly and fraudulently forge a document titled bromide of the presidential directive on the front of LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER of 3rd day of April, 2013 purporting to be the seal of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria as presidential directive and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 468 of the criminal code Act Cap ‘C” 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004″.
When the journalists were arraigned, the trial judge, Justice Ademola Adeniyi, insisted that the charge must be accompanied with the proof of evidence, statements, exhibits and list of witnesses before the journalists can enter their plea.
Justice Adeniyi, thereafter, released Amokeodo and Ukaibe to the company’s secretary, Mr. Umar Jibril, and ordered that they be produced in court for arraignment on April 23, 2013.
