Court clears Melaye of false information charge

A federal capital territory high court in Maitama has discharged Dino Melaye, a former Kogi senator, of charges of false information.

Melaye was arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on giving false information to the police.

The federal government had alleged that Melaye deliberately gave false information to the police, implicating Edward Onoja, then chief of staff to Kogi governor, as the mastermind of an assassination attempt on his life.

Melaye was also alleged to have given false statement in a phone conversation with one Mohammed Audu Abubakar with the intention of damaging the reputation of Onoja.

The prosecution called two witnesses, Onoja and his personal assistant, to prove its allegations.

Rather than opening his defence, Melaye, through his counsel, Olusegun Jolaawo, filed a no-case submission in February 2020.

Jolaawo asked the court to acquit and discharge his client on the grounds that the prosecution has failed to lay out a “prima facie” case against him.

Ruling on the no-case submission on Tuesday, Olasumbo Goodluck, the judge, held that the prosecution failed to prove all the elements of the charges preferred against the defendant.

She flayed the prosecution for stalling the trial on several occasions, adding that despite being put on notice about the no-case submission, the prosecution still failed to show up during the hearing of the application.

On count one, the judge held that “there is no evidence that the defendant gave false information to any person in public service.”

She also described the evidence given by Onoja as “vague”.

“Neither of the two witnesses elicited evidence on the status of Mohammed Abubakar Audu,” Goodluck held.

“Hence, there is lack of evidence on the nature of the status of employment or if at all he is employed, not to talk of him being engaged in public service.

“I am also inclined to allude to the submissions of the defence counsel that there is no statement before the court allegedly made by the defendant to one who is in the public service.

“This being the case, the first ingredients of the offence upon which count one is predicated has not been proved to the court.

“Similarly, the second element of the count has not been proven by the prosecution.”

“He is accordingly discharged on account of the fact that the no-case submission succeeds.”

On May 19, Yusuf Halilu, a judge of the FCT high court, struck out a case against Melaye for lack of diligent prosecution by the office of the attorney-general of the federation.