How Dino Melaye Allegedly Influenced Transfer Of Criminal Case Against Him From Lokoja To Abuja

MICHAEL AKINOLA

The man Dino Melaye is no stranger to scandals. Since his emergence in the current political dispensation in the country, his stock has always attracted negative interests and if emerging facts swirling around lately are anything to go by, the Senator representing Kogi West is about to be enmeshed in perhaps the worst scandal of his career.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered from sources in the controversial Senator’s home state,  Kogi, while a charge has been filed against the exuberant lawmaker in Lokoja,  Kogi State capital,  over an allegation of arming some thugs to disrupt the peace of the state, it is learnt that Melaye has allegedly influenced the transfer of the case to the Federal capital Abuja where he could wield influence on the direction of the case.

According to those sources, the manner the Case with Charge No. FHC/L/LJK/20C/2018, filed by the police against him and some other accused in Lokoja was unceremoniously transferred to Abuja allegedly at his request is raising eyebrows.

It will be recalled that on January 19 2018, the Police arrested two men, Kabiru Seidu, aka Osama, and Nuhu Salisu, aka Small, who allegedly confessed to kidnapping and armed robbery.

The two accused were also said to have indicted and confessed that Melaye and another influential politician from Kogi State had given them guns, ammunitions and undisclosed amounts of money to work for them as political thugs in forthcoming elections.

The Federal High Court, Lokoja had set a March 28 date for the arraignment of Melaye and those other suspects. But, a letter dated March 26, 2018 signed by Melaye’s counsel, Rickey Tarfa, SAN, indicated that Melaye applied for the transfer of the case out of Lokoja, alleging threats to his life.

However,  on March 28, after the matter had come up in Court, the criminal case was suddenly transferred to Hon. Justice B.O Quadri’s Court in Abuja by the Acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Abdul Kafarati.

This stealth move was believed to have been executed to frustrate the arraignment and trial of Melaye and his co-accused at the Lokoja Division of the Federal High Court and to bring the matter to a familiar terrain where they could probably influenced the course of justice.

Melaye on his part, gave fillip to the insinuations, as he crowed over a job well done on his official Twitter page the following day,  March 29 with a tweet: “I have just been contacted by my lawyer Ricky Tarfa that the case against me by the Inspector General of Police in Lokoja has been transferred to Federal High Court Abuja. God is a good God.”

Meanwhile, a legal expert (anonymous) abreast of the case, said while it is not out of place in civil cases for parties to apply for transfer of cases, it is highly unusual in criminal trials for the accused persons or one of them to apply for transfer of his case to a court of his choice and have the request granted by the Chief Judge without any recourse to the prosecution.

Apart from this anomaly, some concern individuals said there are other factors which make the transfer dubious in the extreme notably: Melaye’s counsel,  Rickey Tarfa’s application for transfer dated March 26, 2018 was not served on the police which filed the charges, at least to put them on notice, and that the Acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Kafarati who transferred the case did not on his own seek the opinion of the Police who filed the Charge for their position or response to the allegations of insecurity upon which the application for transfer was hinged.

It was also argued that the case file of the matter was allegedly retrieved by a staff of the Federal High Court, Abuja from Lokoja on March 28 without the knowledge of the handling Judge in Lokoja and most of the Court Staff.

They were said to be so oblivious of the transfer that they continued to tell the police to ignore news of the transfer for days after the news broke, insisting the file was still with them in Lokoja, whereas the file had been moved to Abuja.

It was also said that the March 28 letter of the Acting Chief Judge transferring the matter to Justice Quadri of the Federal High Court, Abuja is yet to be sent to the Police and the Judge handling the matter in Lokoja as of April 9. Whereas Senator Melaye accurately celebrated the transfer in the media as of March 29, nearly a fortnight ago.

Meanwhile, allegations have also been levelled against Mr. Rickey Tafa of facilitating the “dubious transfer”.

Tarfa, a Senior Advocate, currently on trial for allegedly bribed judges in other cases, was said to have used his closeness to Justice Abdul Kafarati to facilitate the transfer.

It was also gathered that Melaye and some of his colleagues in the Senate allegedly mounted serious pressure on Justice Abdul Kafarati, who is hoping to be confirmed substantive Chief Judge of the Federal High Court by President Muhammadu Buhari, by assuring him of their intervention in his favour.

Pursuant to these pressures, it was argued that Justice Kafarati’s transfer of the matter to Abuja was in breach of the rules of practice and procedure applicable in the Court.

Meanwhile, the Police still believing that the case was at Lokoja filed an Ex-parte Motion asking the Court to amongst other things set aside its ruling adjourning the matter to May 10 for arraignment and set an earlier date for the arraignment of the accused persons.

At the hearing of the ex-parte motion on Thursday, April 12 in Lokoja, Justice P.M Ayua while declining to hear the motion informed the Prosecution that the case file had been transferred to Abuja, hence the application should be filed in Abuja.

The Prosecutor who was visibly dissatisfied by that information expressed his displeasure with the manner of the transfer, confirming that the Police was never consulted before or informed of the transfer.

It was also gathered that the Police high command in Abuja are now under heavy pressure from some top members of the National Assembly and the Presidency to allow things stay as it is at the moment but will they allow the alleged dubious transfer and subversion of justice to stay? That’s the question on many lips.