Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate pleaded not guilty to the charges.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Lagos State Government has arraigned the Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate in Lagos, Frederick Nwajago, before the State High Court sitting in TBS for alleged terrorism.
He was arraigned on nine counts of “attempt to do acts of terrorism, participation in terrorism, meeting to support a proscribed entity, attempt to finance an act of terrorism and preparation to commit an act of terrorism, preferred against him by the state government.”
Nwajago was arrested on April 1 following a viral video, in which he threatened to invite members of the Indigenous People of Biafra to Lagos to secure the property of Igbo people living in the state.
He said in the 49-second video, “IPOB, we will invite them. They have no job. All of the IPOB will protect all of our shops. And we have to pay them. We have to mobilise for that. We have to do that. We must have our security so that they will stop attacking us at midnight, in the morning, and in the afternoon.
“When they discover that we have our security before they will come, they will know that we have our men there. I am not saying a single word to be hidden. I am not hiding my words, let my words go viral. Igbo must get their right and get a stand in Lagos State.”
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Police arrest Eze Ndigbo over threat of inviting IPOB to Lagos
However, the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, reacting to his statements, said the police would resist IPOB presence in the state.
After his arrest, the 67-year-old was taken before the Lagos State Magistrates’ Court in Yaba, which made an order that he should be remanded in the prison custody.
He was on Tuesday taken before Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the State High Court.
A Deputy Director in the Ministry of Justice, Jonathan Ogunsanya, who represented the Attorney General of Lagos State, Moyosore Onigbanjo, told the court that the Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate violated the provision of sections 403(2) and 12(c), 18, 21, 29 & 12(a) of the Terrorism (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Justice Adesanya adjourned till July 4 for commencement of trial.
