The alleged terrorism trial of the Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate, Lagos, Frederick Nwajagu, was yesterday stalled at the Lagos State High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square.
The absence of defence counsel led Justice Yetunde Adesanya to adjourned the case till July 5.
Nwajagu was arrested by the Department of State Services on April 1 after he was seen in a viral video threatening to invite the South-East separatist Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB to Lagos.
He was captured t=saying: “IPOB, we will invite them. They have no job. IPOB will protect all of our shops. And we have to pay them. We have to mobilise for that.
“We have to do that. We must have our security so that they will stop attacking us at midnight, in the morning, and in the afternoon.”
Nwajagu was arraigned on May 9, on nine counts, bordering on “an attempt to commit acts of terrorism, participating in terrorism and meeting to support a proscribed entity, attempt to finance an act of terrorism, and preparation to commit an act of terrorism.”
The prosecution counsel, Jonathan Ogunsanya, told the court that the offences contravened Section 403(2) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015; as well as sections 12(a)(c), 18, 21 and 29 of the Terrorism (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022.
But on reading the charges to him, Nwajagu pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
However, at the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the prosecution counsel announced his appearance, but the defence counsel was absent.
When asked by the court about his counsel, Nwajagu told the judge his lawyer had promised that if he was unable to make it to court, he would send a junior counsel.
Alleluia is the Assistant Editor and Content Writer at LagosPost.ng. She is a prolific writer and editor, she has written features and news stories on Lifestyle, Sports, Business, Politics and B2B marketing. She is also an event coordinator, host and social media content creator.
