Supreme Court Nullifies Conviction of Senior Lawyer, Joseph Nwobike

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Supreme Court yesterday nullified the conviction of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr. Joseph Nwobike on the grounds that the Lagos State criminal law on which charges were preferred against him, did not clearly define what constitutes attempt to pervert the course of justice.

The panel of five Justices led by Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, further held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lacks the power to investigate and prosecute the said offence of perversion of justice.

Nwobike had approached the apex court to challenge the decision of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, which had earlier upheld the decision of a High Court of Lagos State which found him guilty of the alleged offence and consequently handed down a 30 days sentencing.

He had among other things argued that the two lower court erred in law to have arrived at a guilty verdict against him, and as such the apex court should set aside the guilty verdict and the accompanying sentencing.

Delivering judgment in the appeal, the apex court in a unanimous decision held among others that the trial court was wrong in convicting Nwobike on the offence, adding that the appellate court also erred by going ahead to upheld Nwobike’s conviction and sentencing on the offence of attempt to pervert the course of justice.

The apex court noted that Section 97(3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, under which he was charged, did not clearly define what constitutes perversion of justice for which the appellant could be held liable.

Justice Helen Ogunwumiju, who delivered the lead judgment as prepared by Justice Tijani Abubakar, stated that the alleged offence of perversion of the course of justice did not fall within the contemplation of economic and financial crimes that affect the economic activities of the government, in respect of which the EFCC has the power to investigate and prosecute.

“Having resolved that the EFCC does not have the power to prosecute the offences constituted in count seven to 17 of the amended charge, and that, in the light of the decision of the trial court that Section 97(3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State (2011) does not define the manner of perversion of justice for which the appellant may be held culpable.

“It follows that the appellant cannot be tried and convicted on the aforesaid counts seven to 11, 13, 15 to 17 of the amended information and by necessary implication therefore, the conviction of the appellant cannot be sustained,” she said.

The apex court accordingly went ahead to void the decision of the Court of Appeal delivered on December 19, 2019 in appeal number: CA/L/8560/2018.

“The appellant’s conviction and sentence on counts seven to 11, count 13, and counts 15 to 17 of the amended information are hereby set aside. The appellant is consequently discharged,” the apex court held.

The EFCC had arraigned Nwobike before Justice R. I. B. Adebiyi of the High Court of Lagos State in Ikeja on an 18-count amended charge in which he was accused of among others, paying money to judges and exchanging telephone messages with court officials to influence the assignment and hearing of his cases.

The trial court in a judgment delivered on April 30, 2018, had convicted Nwobike on 12 out of the 18 counts contained in the charge and sentenced him to 30 days imprisonment on each count to run concurrently.

On appeal, the Court of Appeal, Lagos, in a judgment on December 19, 2019, had upheld Nwobike’s appeal in part, and reversed his conviction on counts 3, 12 and 14, leaving counts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16 and 17 in respect of which the Supreme Court pronounced on Monday.

The other two members of the panel were Justices John Okoro and Abdul Aboki.