The Chief Judge of Enugu State has been sued by a civil rights group over an alleged judicial conspiracy that led to the unlawful detention of a point-of-sale (POS) operator, Mr. Omotara Yusuf, and the fraudulent withdrawal of ₦4,995,000 from his bank account through questionable court orders.
The Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), in a petition signed by its President, Olu Omotayo, Esq., detailed how Yusuf, an Access Bank POS agent operating as TEEJAT VIDEO MART in Ogun State, was detained by the police from June 26 to June 30, 2023, based on court orders obtained by one Barrister Chidiogo Maduekwe from the Enugu South Magisterial District.
The orders, signed by Mrs. F.N. Nosike, Assistant Chief Registrar of the Magistrate Court, were allegedly used to freeze Yusuf’s bank account and transfer nearly ₦5 million to the account of one Alabi Akeem. Yusuf was not a party to the case for which the court orders were secured and had no prior relationship with any of the applicants.
According to the petition, the transaction began on May 24, 2023, when Akeem and his associates visited Yusuf’s office in Ogun State, claiming they needed cash for a vehicle purchase. They transferred ₦4,995,000 to Yusuf’s POS account and collected the cash in exchange, along with a ₦50,000 POS fee.
Days later, on May 26, 2023, his account was placed on a “Post No Debit” order. On June 23, 2023, the entire amount was transferred to Akeem’s Kuda Bank account by court order. Yusuf was subsequently arrested and detained under the same court order.
Upon visiting Enugu on October 26, 2023, to investigate, Yusuf claimed that Mrs. Nosike denied authorizing the signatures on the controversial court orders. She reportedly stated that the signatures were done on her behalf without her knowledge and lamented that she had been trying to stop her staff from forging her signature.
A mediation meeting was later held in Enugu, involving Yusuf, his lawyer Charles Ifenze Ugwu, the applicant Umeizu Nzube, and Barr. Maduekwe. During the meeting, Nzube reportedly promised to refund the money by January 29, 2024, a promise that has yet to be fulfilled.
CRRAN condemned the incident as a “perversion of justice and an attack on the Rule of Law,” urging the Chief Judge to summon Mrs. Nosike to authenticate or repudiate the signatures on the court orders. The group also copied Governor Peter Mbah in the petition, calling for his intervention.
“The court is the last hope of the common man. It is incumbent on the Enugu State judiciary and government to prevent such abuse of judicial power and uphold the rule of law,” the petition concluded.
