The Lagos State Police Command is set to prosecute two lawyers, Jama Onwubuariri and Joseph Iwunze, for alleged theft, News About Nigeria reports.
This was disclosed by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, which gave the go-ahead to the police while dismissing a suit filed by the lawyers.
The lawyers had earlier filed a suit, asking the court to stop the police from prosecuting them over allegations of stealing shares and falsifying the company register.
They filed the suits on the grounds that the case was a civil case.
The lawyers and their company, Truck Tech Platform Ltd., had also dragged the Inspector General of Police (IGP); Commissioner of Police, Lagos State; Officer in Charge, Monitoring Unit, Lagos Police Command, and a shareholder of the company, Temidayo Adeboye, before the court, alleging that they were attempting to arrest and prosecute them over a matter they described as purely civil.
Onwubuariri and Iwunze further asked the court for a restraining order on the police, praying for the court to stop them from arresting, detaining, or prosecuting them pending the determination of a civil suit filed by Adeboye and other shareholders of the company over the redistribution of shares forfeited by another shareholder, Adewale Matthew.
Justice D.E. Osaigor, however, stated that the police cannot be restrained from performing their constitutional duties of investigating an alleged crime and prosecuting anyone suspected to be involved in such a crime on the ground that a civil matter is pending before a court.
He noted that, according to the exhibit that was brought before him by the 4th defendant, Adeboye, the police had already concluded its investigation and recommended that the two lawyers be charged in court for forgery, falsification, and other fraud.
