By Brave Dickson
Chief Christian Dike has won another case in court following his discharge and acquittance by a magistrate court sitting in Port Harcourt.
Chief Dike who won a landed property litigation against Chijioke Nsofor and other in 2015 was frivolously accused of conspiring to steal, stealing, forgery and wilful damage of property.
He was declared not guilty of a four-count charge levelled against him.
Narrating his ordeal during the trial, the judgement winner said:
“I am the owner of the property they took to court and embarrassed me in so many ways. I was in prison custody for 21 days. But I thank God for everything because one with God is the majority. At a time, I didn’t know what to do, but my lawyer advised me to take it easy.
“So in all these litigations, I see them as a trial, and I thank God today for vindicating me. Indeed, the judiciary is the hope of the common man.
Chief Dike’s lawyer, Barr Dan Oguowere who described the cases as a fierce legal battle, maintained that the court had established the innocence of his client.
Barr Oguowere said: “First of all I thank God for bringing the legal battle that started in 2010 to an end. In 2015, an innocent person (Chief Christian Dike) was framed up with a four-count charge of conspiracy to steal, stealing, forgery and willful destruction of property in charge number PMC/1553c/2015. By the grace of God, after the trial, which was a fierce legal contention, it ended this 15th day of August 2019. The magistrate court delivered the judgement discharging and acquitting Chief Christian Dike from all the count charge, having found him to be innocent.
“In the first place, the man who said that his signature was forged in a land document, also had another document he signed and appeared in court and adopted it as his evidence which is a statement on oath. We produced before the honourable court his written deposition in that court and also the record of proceedings of the court to show that the same man who is now denying that signature, truly signed the same signature which he adopted before the court. In fact, we were able to show that the man is not a witness of the truth that should be believed.
“In the area of conspiracy, stealing and wilful damage, no iota of evidence was given by prosecution witnesses, linking the defendant to those crimes. The court had no choice than to discharge and acquit him of all the four-count charge. This judgement shows that there is hope for Rivers State judiciary.”
Reliable documents available to TPCN indicated that land dispute between Chief Dike and Chijioke Nsofor led to a civil action brought against the latter by the former in suit number PHC/2125/2010 which the court entered judgement in favour of Chief Dike against Nsofor on the 28th day of October 2015.
Delivering the judgement which reads in part, Justice S.O Iragunima declared that, “the claimant (Chief Christian Dike) is entitled to a right of occupancy, proprietary and possessory over the land herein known as No. 1 Wokeah Street, Eliowhani in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria as per the Deed of Lease and Deed of Conveyance in this suit.
“It is further declared that the defendants’ (Chijioke Nsofor and John Okamini) acts of encroachment into the land now known as No. 1 Wokeah Street, amounts to trespass.
“That this court also orders the sum of three hundred thousand naira (N300,000) being and representing general damages against the defendants for trespass into claimant’s said land.
“That an order of perpetual injunction is equally hereby granted restraining the defendants by themselves, their agents, servants, workers, hired thugs and privies from any attempt to erect or place any block on claimant’s uncompleted building and further entry into claimant’s land at No. 1 Wokeah Street, Eliowhani in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria.”
In 2010, it was learnt that Chijioke Nsofor in keeping on with the legal battle, instituted a fundamental human right enforcement suit against Chief Christian Dike, Sergeant Ididiong (Investigating police officer) Zone 6 Calabar, Corporal Nte (Investigating police officer), Zone 6 Calabar and the Assistant Inspector General of Police Zone 6 Calabar.
However, the matter which was before a federal high court, Port Harcourt in Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/592/2010 was struck out by Justice T Abubakar for want of diligence.
It was also gathered that a fake company called Rainbow Universal Company LTD was used in instituting another legal action against Chief Dike around 2015 in Suit No. PHC/1784/2015 before a state high court in Port Harcourt.
According to a legal research report by Brunoffy Legal Fortress and signed by Barr Offiong Akpanika, the said Rainbow Universal Company LTD was not registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission at the time of filing this report.
The report said, “the company’s name given for corporate search at the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja was searched for both manually and electronically and found unavailable.
“The corporate legal implication of the findings above is that the company is not registered at the Corporate Affairs Commission under the Companies And Allied Matters Act, 1990. The company, therefore, is not a legal/corporate personality eligible for any business dealing.”
Upon striking out the suit for having been discontinued, Justice E. N Thompson awarded a cost of N20,000 against the claimant, (Rainbow Universal Company LTD) in favour of the defendant (Chief Christian Dike), ordering that, “this cost must be paid before the claimant takes any other step in re-instituting this suit.”
