A Lagos State High Court has dismissed an application by legal practitioner Ademola Owolabi, principal of Ademola Adetokunbo & Co., seeking to stop his criminal prosecution over an alleged forgery and property dispute involving a parcel of land in Lekki Phase I, Lagos.
Delivering a judgment, Justice Olalekan Oresanya held that the legality of the Lagos State Attorney-General’s legal advice recommending criminal charges could not be determined through judicial review proceedings but should instead be addressed during the pending criminal trial.
“The issues raised by the applicant as to the propriety or otherwise of his indictment vide the legal advice(s) issued by the respondent can only be resolved by credible evidence at a plenary trial before the court,” the judge held.
The judgment paves the way for the ongoing criminal trial of Owolabi, Alex Ochonogor, Managing Director of Bluecrest Homes Limited, and Adebayo Akeju, principal of Adon Partners, to continue before Justice Sherifat Sonaike of the Lagos State High Court.
The three defendants are standing trial on a five-count charge bordering on alleged conspiracy to commit felony, forgery of land-related documents and willful damage to property, contrary to the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
