A female legal practitioner, Ms Stella Oyiogu has been dragged before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) for alleged acts of willful misconduct brought against her at the instance of some of Nigeria’s leading statesmen including General Yakubu Gowon, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III and the Lamido of Adamawa Alhaji Barkindo Aliyu Mustafa.
Already, she is expected to appear before the LPDC on Thursday – tomorrow, February 13 – to provide answers to a petition regarding an alleged fraudulent transfer of Abuja plot of land belonging to the Barewa Old Boys Association(BOBA).
As a corollary to petition, the police has slammed a five-count charge of misconduct against Ms Oyiogu and some of her alleged collaborators in the alleged fraudulent act.
The five- count charge dated September 27, 2024 was filed by Abdurashid Isaku Sidi of the Legal/Prosecution section, Force Headquarters, dated September 27, 2024,
Among the personalities in the alleged fraud case by the police is one of Abuja’s biggest land developers, Linus Ukachukwu, Ibrahim Salmanu who falsely presented himself as a trustee of Barewa Old Boys Association and the former secretary general of the old boys school association, Professor Ahmed Tijani Mora.
Barewa College, Zaria is the premier secondary school in Northern Nigeria with an old boys’ association that includes some of the leading lights in the country including five former Presidents and Heads of State of Nigeria.
The defendants are alleged to have collaborated among themselves to divest the association of a prime plot of land allocated to it in the Central District of Abuja in 1983.
The land which was in the trust of the General Gowon led Board of Trustees was sometimes in 2007 reallocated to Haida Properties that year. Two years later, that is in, 2009 the same plot of land was reallocated to Eagle Aluminum belonging to Mr. Linus Ukachukwu unknown to the board of trustees of BOBA.
Sometime in 2012, the then Secretary of BOBA Professor Tijani Ahmed Mora was alleged to have acted on behalf of BOBA surrendered the land to Eagle Alumiunm and that was without the consent of the larger national executive committee and indeed the Gowon led BOT upon whom the assets of the association are vested in.
According to the petition, when in 2017 NEC and other members of the association got to know that the association had lost the land, they approached the then Minister of the FCT, Mohammed Bello who considered the appeal of the association and restored the title of the land to BOBA.
Meanwhile, HAIDA Properties and Eagle Aluminium had gone to court and between them drawn up an agreement to jointly develop the land without regard to the interest of BOBA whose title to the land had already been restored.
Following a petition by a new BOBA executive to the police, investigation unearthed alleged malpractices by past officials of the association, including the former secretary general of the association, Prof Mora and past president, Ibrahim Salmanu, who allegedly falsely presented himself as a member of the association’s BOT and who have now been charged to an FCT High court along with Ukachukwu and Oyiogu for conspiracy and fraud.
Some of the five-counts against the defendants read: “That you Ibrahim Salmanu, Linus Ukachukwu, Prof. Ahmed Tjani Mora and Chioma Stella Oyiogu who conspired with yourself on or about the year, 2012 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did contrary to section 96 and punishable under section 97 of the Penal Code Act.
In count two, the prosecution alleged that the defendants: “On or about the year, 2012 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honourable court fraudulently and dishonestly made and filled series of court processes before a High Court in Suit No: FCT/HC/CV/363/2013 deceiving the said court to believe that the court processes were endorsed and authorized by officers of Barewa Old Boys Association and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 362 (a) and punishable under section 364 of the Penal Code Act.
While Ahmed Tijani was charged as a sole defendant in counts three and four, Chioma Stella Oyiogu
was charged as a sole defendant in count five.
The counts read:” That you Ahmed Tijjani Mora on or about the year, 2012 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this court being entrusted with duty of care the Barewa Old Boys Association organization as its Secretary General did dishonestly misappropriate the said trust placed on you when you unilaterally without consulting the Executives of the said organization and acting in breach of its constitution on its property Plot 291 within Central Area (A00) District transmitted a letter you addressed to Eagle Aluminium Industries Ltd referenced BOBA/LM/VOL.1/0510/13 and dated 5th October, 2013 disposing the proprietary interest of Barewa Old Boys Association and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 311 and punishable under section 312 of the Penal Code Act.
“That you Prof. Ahmed Tijani Mora on or about the year, 2012 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honorable court being entrusted with duty of care by the Barewa Old Boys Association as the organization’s Secretary General did dishonestly misappropriate the said trust placed on you when you unilaterally without consulting the Executives of the said organization and acting in breach of its constitution on its property Plot 291 within Central Area (AOO) District transmitted a letter you addressed to Eagle Aluminium Industries Ltd referenced BOBA/LM/VOL.1/27/10/13 and dated 27th October, 2013 disposing the proprietary interest of Barewa Old BOys Association and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 311 and punishable under section 312 of the Penal Code Act.
“That you Chioma Stella Oyiogu on or about the year, 2013 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honourable court fraudulently and dishonestly made and filed series of court processes before a High Court in Abuja Suit No: FCT/HC/CV/363/2013 deceiving the said court to believe that you were endorsed and authorized by officers of Barewa Old Boys Association to represent it in the said case luring the court to strip the association of its proprietary right in its property Plot 291 within Central Area (A00) District and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 320 (a) and punishable under section 324 of the Penal Code Act.
Underlying the case is the alleged conspiracy between a former official of the association and others to strip the association of the prime land allocated to it in 1983.
The care of the land was vested in the Gowon-led Board of Trustees and not the NEC of the association.
