Emperor Ogbonna Knows He’s Committed Crimes, NBA Should Not Help Him Evade Justice

Emperor Ogbonna is supposed to be a lawyer in Aba, making a name for himself through successful litigations and relentless pursuit of justice for the aggrieved. But this lawyer appears to have disdain for the court, and for justice. Instead of going to court, marshaling evidence to proof his case beyond all reasonable doubts, the man has been busy on social media, trying all crooked means to get the attention he couldn’t to get in court.

Ogbonna recently hit on the evil idea to attack Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s  integrity and character on social media. He went on Facebook to publish some false and malicious tale about the governor going to a shrine in India to swear oath of allegiance to a former governor. He also called it oath of secrecy as if the government is a cult.

As to be expected, Governor Ikpeazu, a strong believer in the rule of law, reported the matter to the police and Ogbonna was charged with the offence of cybercrime at the Federal High Court Umuahia. He struggled to secure bail in court and it was eventually granted.

Then the unexpected happened. While trying to meet his bail terms, he was picked by the operatives of the Department of State Security from the prison where he had been remanded by the court. He has since been in detention.

Reports later emerged in the media that the Aba lawyer had also stepped on some powerful toes. He had made similarly malicious and subversive allegations, which many would consider beneath a lawyer, against the person of President Muhammadu Buhari. He had posted on Facebook, without any evidence, that Nigeria was an Islamic Republic and called for the impeachment of President Buhari.

He also made the ridiculous call for the removal of Northern Nigeria from Nigeria, describing the region as an illiterate population and the biggest problem of Nigeria and making inciting comments that Buhari was anti-Igbo.

For a lawyer trained to make charges based on verifiable and tangible evidence, and not on emotion, Ogbonna should have known that he was playing with fire. Such reckless comments could incite violence and hatred against a section of the country and throw the country into turmoil or even another civil war.

But if truly believed he is fighting a cause, then he must know what he was getting himself into, and prepared himself for the consequences and not try to whip up sentiments that could make him evade justice.

He should have behaved like the late Gani Fawehinmi who dedicated himself to his cause and always had a bag handy in case the authorities he was fighting would come for him. His bag contained the few essential things he would need in detention, including his drugs.

But Ogbonna is afraid of the consequences of his actions  because he knew he had no cause beyond a desire to make some gain by attacking prominent personalities. He knew the dangers of such nefarious adventure, that it may bring him into collision with the State. So he devised the smart move to use his leverage as a member of the Nigerian Bar Association to thwart any perceived offensive by the State.

That was why his friends in Aba wrote the national headquarters of the NBA, alleging he was being persecuted by the Abia State governments. The national NBA, which immediately issued a statement published by some media houses, said it was informed by the Aba branch that Ogbonna was arrested by the state government so that he would not get his bail.  

The statement also made the ridiculous claim that Abia State government officials invaded the court to arrest the lawyer “forcefully” and that was not possible, took possession of him from prison custody. The NBA also claimed Ogbonna was charged with terrorism, when he is facing legitimate charges of cybercrime.

But all the claims had since been debunked and the truth has come out. Ogbonna is being haunted by his crimes and it must have been embarrassing for the NBA to have allowed itself to be used by a member who, in truth, should not have been honoured with the membership of such a body. His actions and utterances do not reflect the training of a lawyer. Neither has he demonstrated the restraint of a true legal mind when making public interventions.

Ogbonna is a lawyer without respect for the law. He denied in court that he originated the tale about Governor Ikpeazu going to India to swear oath, but admitted he “shared” the publication on Facebook. What that tells me as a layman is that he himself believed the claim was false, but still shared on social media because his intention was to attack the governor and bring him into disrepute.

Since 2015 when he came into office, Governor Ikpeazu had visited many countries. These trips were also announced and usually done on behalf of the state to seek foreign investments or as study tour.For a state governor whose ambition is to see that Abia becomes the industrial and commercial hub of Nigeria, it is expected he would undertake such trips.

But there’s no record that the governor has ever traveled to India before and after he became governor of the state. This was evidenced by the testimony of his chief of staff,  Dr. A.C.B. Agbazuere. The chief of staff was quoted in the media as saying the “Governor Ikpeazu has never visited India all his life and as a law-abiding citizen, he took recourse to the law instead of self-help,” he stated while explaining why the governor took Ogbonna to court.

Dr Agbazuere also explained Governor Ikpeazu’s involvement in the Ogbonna saga as not more than ensuring he faced justice in court. He said the governor had  reported a case of cybercrime to the Police and the Police arrested Mr. Ogbonna and charged him before the Federal High Court in Umuahia for cybercrime and not terrorism.

“On 28^th April, 2020, the Federal High Court in Umuahia granted Mr. Ogbonna bail and adjourned the matter to 25^th May, 2020 for hearing. This is the much involving the Governor and we are ready to prosecute the case. No government official even attended Court on the said 28^th April, 2020, what more entering the Court premises for any arrest,” he had stated.

No one should support anyone who wants to commit crimes and walk away. This is not why the NBA was established, and this is not what it is known for. Ogbonna is a straight forward case that the court is already sitting on.

 If Ogbonna and his friends believe he is being held by the DSS illegally, they are lawyers, and should go to court. Not cry persecution.

-Dindu Emmanuel wrote from Wuse, Abuja

Disclaimer: This article is entirely the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of The Whistler.