Judge, Son Jailed Over False Information

An Anambra-based lawyer, Chinelo Egini 61, who is a customary court president, and her son, Valentine Egini, 32, have been arraigned before Igbosere Magistrate Court, Lagos, for providing false information to the police against her brothers. The accused, who were arraigned on four-count charge, before Magistrate W.B. Balogun, were said to have accused Messrs, Godwin Obedike, Chikewe Igweke and Fidelis Obedike of stealing N40 million from WECO systems international limited as well as sponsoring illegal organisation against the Nigerian state and importation of fake and expired drugs.
The allegations were contained in a petition written to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Adeniji Adele, Lagos. The police, during its investigations, uncovered that the allegations made in the petition, were false and that the matter between the lawyer, her son and her brothers was over alleged criminal conversion of monies and properties belonging to one of their late brothers, the late Chief Executive Officer of WECO System International Limited, Uchenna Obedike, who died in August 2013, in the USA, without a wife and children. It was also alleged that, Valentine and some of his siblings, had unlimited access to Obedike’s house in Lekki, as at the time of his death and they were alleged to have transferred huge sums of money from his bank accounts, using his personal computers. The brothers, on learning what has gone wrong, demanded for the return of the money and properties stolen from their late brother, but Valentine and his mother, in turn wrote petition against his uncles. Counsel to accused asked the court to grant bail on self recognition as the lawyer is a President of a Customary Court Igboukwu in Anambra State. However, the Magistrate, in his ruling denied bail on self recognition to the accused but awarded a N1 million bail with a gainfully-employed surety.