HEDA/Adoke alleged cyberstalking: lack of evidence, FG drop charges against HEDA

PRESS RELEASE

The Federal Government of Nigeria has dropped two out of four charges in a suit brought before the court against Olanrewaju Suraju, Chairman of HEDA Resource Centre over alleged cyberstalking.

According to a statement on Monday by HEDA, said the FG dropped the two-count charge over lack of proof as HEDA vows not to give up in fighting corruption.

PRESS STATEMENT

The federal government of Nigeria has dropped two (2) charges from four (4) it brought against the chairman of Human  & Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) Olanrewaju Suraju, following am alleged Cyberstalking suit brought by the immediate past Attorney General & Minister of Justice of the federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, against Suraju.

At the federal High Court sitting in Abuja over the weekend, the prosecution counsel, Bagudu Sani, told the court that they had filed an amended charge, thereby bringing the counts down to two from the four initially filed.

In the amended charge, Suraju was accused of circulating an audio telephone interview alleged to have occurred between one Mrs. Carlamaria Rumor, a reporter with RIA in Italy, and Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), on social media.

Suraju pleaded not guilty to the two counts brought against him when the charges were read to him by the court registrar.

The defense counsel in his submission told the court to admit his client to bail on his self recognisance, adding that he is a prominent Nigerian, more so, the defendant has been coming to court on his own accord without being coerced to do so, even when the prosecution was not ready.

The presiding judge, Justice Binta Nyanko, while ruling on the bail application filed by Suraju’s lawyer, Muiz Banire (SAN), held that Suraju should be released to his lawyer on his own recognisance, adding that his lawyer must deposit a N7 million cheque with the court registrar.

Documents from HEDA revealed that the first Charge has four counts thus:

COUNT ONE:

“That you OLANREWAJU SURAJU, Male, of 20, Mojidi Street, Ikeja Lagos sometime in 2018, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did intentionally circulate an audio telephone interview alleged to have occurred between one Ms. Carlamaria Rumor a reporter with RIA Reporter in Italy and Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN via your Twitter handle @HEDAagenda which you knew to be false for the purpose of causing insult to Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) Act,   2015 and punishable under the same Section of the Act.

COUNT TWO:

That you OLANREWAJU SURAJU, Male, of 20, Mojidi Street, Al<eja Lagos sometime in 2018, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did intentionally circulate an audio telephone interview alleged to have occurred between one Ms Carlamaria Rurnor a reporter with RIA Reporter in Italy and Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN on your Facebool< page with the handle @HEDAResourcecentre which you knew to be false for the purpose of causing insult to Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention,. ETC) Act, 2015 and punishable under the same Section of the Act.

COUNT THREE:

That you OLANREWAJU SURAJU, Male, of 20, Mojidi Street, Ikeja Lagos sometime in 2018, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did intentionally circulate an email dated 21 st June, 2011 alleged to have been sent with the email address agroupproperties@yahoo.com owned by A Group Proper ies and received by a  BäYöÄ)ÄMith the email-address  bayo.o.osoluke@jpmorgan which you knew to be false via your Twitter handle @HEDAagenda for the purpose of causing insult to Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) Act, 2015 and punishable under the same Section of the Act.

COUNT FOUR:

That you OLANREWAJU SURAJU, Male, of 20, Mojidi Street, Ikeja Lagos sometime in 2018, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did intentionally circulate an email dated 21 st June, 2011 alleged to have been sent with the email address agroupproperties@yahoo.com owned by A Group Properties and received by a certain Osoluke Bayo. O with the email address bayo.o.osoluke@jpmorgan which you knew to be false via your Facebook handle @HEDAResourcecentre for the purpose of causing insult to Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) Act, 2015 and punishable under the same Section of the Act.

Council to HEDA Chairman, Muiz Banire (SAN) revealed that for lack of proof, the prosecutor who helplessly trashed Two (2) of the charges and came up with a new charge thus:

COUNT ONE:

That you OLANR?WAJU SURAJU, Male, of 20, Mojidi Street, Ikeja Lagos sometime in 2018, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did intentionally circulate an audio telephone interview alleged to have occurred between one Ms. Carlamaria Rumor a reporter with RIA Reporter in Italy and Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN via your Twitter handle @HEDAagenda which  you knew to be false for the purpose of causing insult to Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) Act, 2015 and punishable under the same Section of the Act.

COUNT TWO:

That you OLANREWAJU SURAJU, Male, of 20, Mojidi Street, Ikeja Lagos sometime in 2018, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did intentionally circulate an audio telephone interview alleged to have occurred between one Ms Carlamaria Rumor a reporter with RIA Reporter in Italy and Mr. Mohammed.

Bello Adoke SAN on your Facebook page with the handle @HEDAResourcecentre which you knew to be false for the purpose of causing insult to Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) Act, 2015 and punishable under the same Section of the Act.

Adoke, one of those accused and charged with fraud in the OPL245 scam, also referred to as the Malabu scandal, had petitioned the police and accused those behind the petitions resulting in his prosecution for corruption and money laundering. He had alleged that they circulated fabricated materials against him to unduly incriminate him in the multi-million dollar scandal.

The police could not find any proof of forgery in the evidence used to expose Adoke’s corruption but went ahead to charge the HEDA Chairman for cyberstalking.

The Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit had in April 2021 detained Suraju at the Force headquarters for allegedly sharing media reports on the $1 billion Malabu oil deal.

JP Morgan Chase Bank had also released fresh documents which indicted Adoke and were admitted as evidence which included an electronic mail sent by him on June 21, 2011.

The bank released the documents to a United Kingdom court, the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales after the investigation was done by the Special Fraud Office, London, under Director Lisa Osofosky. The documents confirm that contrary to Adoke’s claim of forgery against the NGOs and Italian prosecutors, the documents emanated from JP Morgan and the UK court.

JP Morgan Chase Bank was accused by the Nigerian government of sending $801 million to the bank account of Malabu in Nigeria without appropriate authorisation from Nigeria.  Adoke and six others are standing trial over alleged fraud in the oil deal.