A Federal Capital Territory Magistrate Court, located at Zuba, has expressed disapproval of the repeated adjournments and delays in the trial of Barrister Obiajulu Hansel Uja, an anti-Tinubu air passenger, for criminal offenses.
Uja, described as an ‘Obidient supporter’, was apprehended in April of the previous year for causing a disturbance during an Abuja-Lagos Ibom Air flight by staging a solitary protest and demanding that Bola Ahmed Tinubu, then President-elect, should not be inaugurated as Nigeria’s President on May 29.
The defendant, who is a trained lawyer, has been undergoing trial before Magistrate Abdulazeez Ismail Muhammad of the Zuba Magistrate’s Court.
He is specifically charged with public nuisance, resistance to lawful arrest, threatening violence, and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace, contrary to sections 396, 267, 188, 172, and 144 of the Penal Code Law.
Although Uja pleaded not guilty to all charges, he was denied bail by the trial court for various reasons.
However, during a scheduled session for the definite cross-examination of a prosecution witness, Magistrate Muhammad was surprised to find neither the Federal Government’s lawyer, Umo Inna, nor the defense lawyer, P. U Ogbadu, present in court. Moreover, no explanation was provided for their absence.
Muhammad, taken aback by this development, expressed in a brief ruling the necessity for institutions to remain relevant by recognizing challenges and making difficult decisions. He emphasized the need to prohibit frivolous adjournments in criminal matters, leaning towards substantial justice to grant an adjournment at the prosecution’s request.
Consequently, the matter has been adjourned to March 4, 2024, for the definite cross-examination.
Uja’s trial for criminal offenses has faced several adjournments. At one point, the Kuje prison authority, after a court-ordered medical checkup, found him mentally unstable. However, a Consultant Psychiatrist at the National Hospital Abuja, Dr. Olusegun Shoyombo, confirmed in his medical report that the defendant was mentally sound, allowing for his trial to proceed.
Following a decision by a judge of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Justice Edward Okpe, Uja was granted bail, and it was determined that he was fit for trial. Subsequently, the trial began with the prosecution calling its witness before Magistrate Mohammed Abdulazeez.
The cross-examination has now been postponed to March 4 by Magistrate Muhammad, with a stern warning against further unnecessary delays in the trial.
