Trial Of Lawyers Stalled As Lagos Attorney-General Fails To Produce Police Report

The failure of the Lagos State attorney-general and commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, to produce the report of a fresh police investigation into allegations of forgery and willful property damage against two lawyers and a real estate developer on Monday, stalled their ongoing trial.

The defendants, Ademola Owolabi, Adebayo Akeju and Alex Ochonogor, were arraigned before Justice Sherifat Sonaike of the Lagos State High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square, on charges of forging land documents and demolishing a property in the Lekki area of the state.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges, and they were granted bail by the trial judge.

At the court’s last sitting on October 14, 2025, the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr Babajide Martins, informed the court that the case would not proceed, as the Attorney-General had directed the police to reinvestigate the case.

He, therefore, requested an adjournment so that the process could be completed.

The defence lawyers had opposed the move, accusing the Attorney-General of abusing the court process through his actions.

Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), counsel for the third defendant, Alex Ochonogor, argued that the prosecution’s attempt to reinvestigate a matter already before the court constitutes a violation of due process.

He stated, “We see this as oppression. It is an abuse of the court process. You cannot file a matter, arraign defendants, and then ask the police to reinvestigate it.

“The case shouldn’t have come before the court in the first place if it had not been properly investigated,” the senior lawyer maintained.

Despite the opposition, Justice Sonaike adjourned the matter to January 12, 2026, to allow the police to communicate with the prosecution and submit a further report.

However, at the resumed hearing of the matter, Martins again informed the judge that the prosecution was still awaiting the police report.

Due to this development and the absence of one of the accused persons, the judge was compelled to adjourn the trial to March 9 for trial and the presentation of the report.