Femi Gbajabiamila, a major contender to the office of the Speaker, House of Representatives, has been dragged to court for allegedly lying under oath.
He has subsequently been served criminal summons by an Abuja Grade 1, Area Court in Karshi, to appear on June 10 to clear his name.
His accusers said he failed to disclose in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Form CF 001, which he filled, that he had been previously convicted by a court in the United States.
A political party, African People’s Party, (APP), had approached the court seeking leave to serve the defendant criminal summons by substituted means for allegedly lying under oath.
The complainant also prayed the court for an order to serve the summons on the defendant through the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly.
Granting the order, the presiding judge, Hon. Anas Mohammed, said: “An order is hereby granted giving the complainant leave to serve the defendant the summon through the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The complainant had brought direct criminal complaint pursuant to Sections 88 and 89 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
The grouse of the complainant was that Gbajabiamila lied under oath in his INEC Form CF001 and thereby committed perjury.
The complainant contended that Gbajabiamila was convicted for fraud in the US but lied under oath when he denied in his INEC form that he had never been fined for any offence involving dishonesty or fraud or any offence imposed by a court or tribunal.
The APP who attached the defendant’s INEC Form CF001 to the suit, also submitted that the defendant lied when he said that he had not in the last 10 years been convicted for an offence involving dishonesty.
It attached a copy of the decision of the US Supreme Court, which convicted Gbajabiamila in support of his case.
It contended that Gbajabiamila refused to state the correct position of his conviction and punishment in his INEC form but rather pretended as if nothing happened.
Speaking on the allegations against Gbajabiamila yesterday in Abuja, the National Publicity Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) Mr. Ikenga Ugochinyere, said the documents from the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia showed that Gbajabiamila had been convicted and indicted by the Supreme Court of Georgia for a dishonesty act.
The document dated February 26, 2007, and titled case No. S060829, “In the matter of Femi Gbaja”, signed by Theresa Tee Barnes, Clerk of the Supreme Court of Georgia, revealed that in his petition, Gbaja admits violating rule 1.15 (I) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, which led to his 36 months suspension by the presiding justices.
The document read in part, “Gbaja who has only been a member of the Bar since 2001, admits that he accepted payment of $25,000 as settlement of a client’s personal injury claims, deposited those funds in his attorney’s trust account in January 2003, failed to promptly disburse those funds to his client, withdrew those funds for his own use, closed practice and moved out of the country.”
Ugochinyere accused President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of fighting a fake anti-graft war, which he said was being used to intimidate political opponents.
He said: “How can a so-called clean president be lobbying, coaxing, coercing and mobilising House of Representatives members-elect to step down and support a man who has been convicted in the USA by the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia for willful dishonesty?
“How could the president be demanding that Femi Gbajabiamila, a man convicted of dishonest acts, be anointed and imposed to occupy the speakership of the House of Representatives?
“CUPP is not interested in who parliamentarians decide to elect to lead the Ninth Assembly, what we are saying is that a man who has been convicted of dishonest acts and who is constitutionally ineligible to even come near where leadership questions are asked and answered should not be rail-roaded into the speakership of the Nigerian Parliament.”
