Akunyili’s alleged attackers must be tried again — Appeal Court
By Tobi Soniyi, Abuja
Published: Friday, 6 Jul 2007
The Court of Appeal, Abuja, on Thursday ordered a re-trial of seven Onitsha drug market traders alleged to have masterminded an attempt to kill the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Professor Dora Akunyili.


The accused were discharged early last year by an Abuja High Court on the grounds that the bulk of the offence was committed in Anambra State and that only a high court in Anambra had the jurisdiction to try the suspects.

Justice Ishaq Bello had held that the attempted murder took place in Agulu, Anambra State and the appropriate court to entertain the trial was the state high court.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, the prosecution had filed an appeal contending that the trial judge erred in law to have taken the position and to have discharged the accused person.

But a panel of the court of appeal, with Justice Olufunmilola Adekeye presiding, held that the Abuja High Court has jurisdiction to try the accused.

In the lead judgment delivered by Adekeye, the panel held that although it was trite law that an accused should be charged in a court within the jurisdiction of the crime, it was not always the case.

The court held that there was avalanche of cases where accused persons were charged in a court outside the jurisdiction of alleged crime for various reasons.

The panel said that it was wrong for the lower court to have discharged the accused base on territorial jurisdiction.

The appeal court however struck out two out of the four charges preferred against the accused persons on the grounds that prima facie case had not been established against them on the charges.

It ordered that the accused be tried by the lower court on the two other charges.

The accused includes Marcel Nnakwe and his son, Nnamdi, Francis Okoye, Jude Ugwu, Christopher Okwara-Mba, Emeka Orjiakor and Olisaemeka Igbokwe.

They were alleged to be behind the importation of fake and adulterated drugs into the Nigerian market through the Onitsha drug market.

Jurisdiction superseed all this nonsense, take the case back to Anambra abeg. What are this people smoking self. The is not a federal violation and should go back to the local or state court

they want to kill their own.