Judge Furious, Threatens To Strike Out Cyberstalking Case Against HEDA Chair

The furious judge adjourned the case following the inability of the prosecution to commence trial.

A Federal High Court judge in Abuja,  Justice Binta Nyarko, this Monday threatened to strike out a case preferred against the Chairman of Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre), Olanrewaju Suraju, over alleged cyberstalking.
The furious judge adjourned the case following the inability of the prosecution to commence trial.
“If the DPP makes this mistake again, they will pay for the airfare and hotel accommodation of the defense counsel, it is the last adjournment, or this case will be struck out,” Justice Nyarko ruled.
The counsel from the office of the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) in the Federal Ministry of Justice had prayed the trial judge, Justice Binta Nyarko, to adjourn the case to allow them more time to study and review the case file.
The defense counsel, Muiz Banire, while objecting to the plea for adjournment by the prosecution counsel, decried that his client and the team were going through a lot of stress, having to travel from Lagos State to Abuja now and then.
Suraju has been charged with cyberstalking for allegedly circulating the fake audio of a phone interview said to have been planted to implicate Mohammed Bello Adoke, former attorney-general of the federation (AGF), in the OPL 245 saga, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/370/21.
According to Banire, the earlier scheduled arraignment on January 24, 2022, could not proceed over the failure of the prosecution to serve the defendant and court with the proof of evidence.

Justice Nyarko, while adjourning the case, reiterated that she would not hesitate to strike out the case if the prosecution appeared in court on the adjourned date of February 18, 2022, unprepared, adding that the prosecution risks paying for logistics and transportation expenditures of the defense team.

Suraju with representatives of some CSOs
The Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development (PRIMORG), alongside other CSOs, were represented in court to witness the court session.

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