An FCT Chief Magistrates’ Court yesterday struck out a case of alleged illegal importation of firearms and ammunition filed against four Lebanese by the State Security Service (SSS), for lack of jurisdiction.
The accused are Mustapha Fawaz, the owner of Amigo Supermarket and Wonderland Children’s Amusement Park; Abdallah Tahini, Tala Roda and Kossay Nourdin.
Presiding Chief Magistrate Oyeyipo Ademuyiwa took the decision following an application for withdrawal of the case file by the prosecution counsel, Mr C. Osagie.
An FCT Chief Magistrates’ Court yesterday struck out a case of alleged illegal importation of firearms and ammunition filed against four Lebanese by the State Security Service (SSS), for lack of jurisdiction.
The accused are Mustapha Fawaz, the owner of Amigo Supermarket and Wonderland Children’s Amusement Park; Abdallah Tahini, Tala Roda and Kossay Nourdin.
Presiding Chief Magistrate Oyeyipo Ademuyiwa took the decision following an application for withdrawal of the case file by the prosecution counsel, Mr C. Osagie.
Osagie had based his application on lack of jurisdiction by the court to entertain the case.
“Having listened to the submission of the prosecution counsel, the application is hereby granted as prayed.
“Following the withdrawal of the First Information Report (FIR) dated June 5 with charge No. CR/31/13, I hereby strike out the case pursuant to Section 159 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
“The notice of preliminary objection dated June 17 is also struck out having been overtaken by event; consequently, the four accused persons are discharged,” Oyeyipo said.
The prosecutor had earlier applied for the withdrawal of the charges against the accused.
“The accused persons were arraigned by the SSS on June 6, 2013, and investigation into the incident showed that the case is beyond the jurisdiction of this court.
“The case file has been forwarded to the Attorney-General of the Federation.
“We, therefore, humbly apply that the FIR filed on the above date be withdrawn,’’ Osagie said.
Ahmed Raji (SAN), the defense counsel, commended the prosecution counsel for “taking a bold step to withdraw the case’’, describing him as a good ambassador of the bar.
“When we learnt that our clients had been arraigned before this court, we applied for the FIR and observed that the alleged offences bordered on terrorism.
“The case is beyond the jurisdiction of this court and this prompted us to file an objection challenging the prosecutor's action,” Raji said.
It would be recalled that the accused were arraigned on June 6 on a two-count charge of terrorism and illegal importation of firearms and ammunition.
According to the SSS, the alleged offences are contrary to Section 96 (1) (a) of the Penal Code and sections 18 and 19 of the Firearms Act Cap F2 laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004.
Since their arraignment the accused have been remanded in SSS custody to enable the relevant security agencies to complete their investigations into the case.
Meanwhile, Raji, the defense counsel, said he had filed a suit against the SSS at the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking N4 billion compensation for each of the four accused persons over their “unlawful’’ detention.
Raji told newsmen that his clients were detained without trial by the SSS for more than a month instead of the 48 hours permitted by law.
He said the suit would come up for mention on Friday.
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