Justice Olasumbo Goodluck of a Federal High Court sitting in Maitama Abuja has today foreclosed the prosecution in the trial of Mr Dino Melaye for alleged falsehood.
Mr Melaye is standing a trial bordering on false alarm by providing falsehood information to the Police.
It was revealed that, Melaye sometimes in April, 2017 out of mischief lied to the police through providing them with false information purportedly to implicate the then chief of staff to the Kogi state governor, Mr Edward David Onoja, now the Deputy Governor.
Melaye allegedly accused Mr Onoja who is now the Deputy Governor of Kogi state as a person who masterminded an assassination attempt on his life.
In a similar manner, the same April of that year, he went ahead to made provision of a false claim purportedly a phone conversation between him and Mohammed Abubakar, a son to the former governor of Kogi state.
Accordingly, the prosecution alleged that the phone call was purposely intended to drag the name of Onoja to disrepute.
Subsequently, Melaye pleaded not guilty to the charge, which is punishable under sections 140 and 398 of the penal code law, cap.89 laws of northern Nigeria, 1963.
The Judge slammed the prosecution in a bench ruling on the application made by Mr Melaye Lawyer, Mr Olusegun Odubela, SAN who informed the Court that the prosecution counsel was absent.
Consequently, the Judge upheld that she will not tolerate the behaviour of the prosecution counsel in the case.
The Judge accused the prosecution council of disrespecting the court for refusing to inform the court the reason for his absence.
The Judge, Justice Goodluck further stated that the case has been adjourned more than required up to five times because of the prosecution counsel failed to appear in court.
Goodluck therefore concluded in view of that the view that “the case of the prosecution be foreclosed and it is hereby foreclosed.”
She added that having state they were going to make a no-case-submission for the court to either duly dismisses the case or otherwise, the court would adjourn to enable the defence do the needful.
The Judge then adjourned the case until February 11, 2020 for the defence’s no-case-submission.
