Ogun bizman protests alleged dropping of charges against suspects - Punch Newspapers

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun. Photo: Ogun govt

An Ogun State businessman, Ashiru Azeez, has petitioned the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwasina Ogungbade, seeking a review of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions’ legal advice in a case involving alleged assault, theft and other offences. Azeez, through his counsel, Ayodeji Ifonlaja, made the demand in a petition sent to PUNCH Metro on Wednesday. The petition, dated July 31, 2026, followed an earlier petition submitted to the Ministry of Justice on April 16, 2026, according to the lawyer. Ifonlaja alleged that although the DPP’s legal advice dated February 24, 2026, acknowledged that Azeez and other victims were violently attacked, physically assaulted and robbed of money and valuables by suspects armed with cutlasses, sticks and other dangerous weapons, several of the charges initially recommended by the police were dropped. The lawyer said the charges eventually preferred against the suspects principally involved assault-related offences, which, according to him, did not adequately reflect the gravity of the alleged offences. “Our petition demonstrated, with specific reference to the police case file and the DPP’s own findings, that the legal advice expressly acknowledged that the complainant and other victims were violently accosted by the suspects; they were physically assaulted; substantial sums of money and other valuables were stolen from them; and the perpetrators carried out the attack while armed with cutlasses, sticks and other dangerous weapons,” Ifonlaja said. He added that the police had initially preferred about nine counts against the defendants based on the outcome of their investigation. “However, following the issuance of the DPP’s legal advice, several of those serious counts were omitted, leaving principally assault-related allegations which attract significantly lesser penal consequences,” the lawyer said. Recounting the incident, Azeez said he arrived at Odugboro GRA Extension, Makun, Sagamu, for a family meeting and found members of his family sitting on the floor. He said he intervened after receiving a call from the then Commissioner of Police, Alamutu, adding that blood was flowing at the scene following the attack. Azeez said one of his phones was returned, while the other was later tracked to the Lekki area of Lagos State.See more Punch stories on Google.Add Punch on Google He said about eight members of the alleged gang were eventually arrested following persistent efforts by the family, but only one was arraigned. According to him, the police initially filed nine counts, including assault occasioning harm, malicious damage and stealing. “However, only one suspect was arraigned out of the eight arrested. The only one arraigned was a personal arrest because the police had alleged all of them jumped bail,” he said. Azeez said the family subsequently petitioned the DPP to take over the case, after which emissaries allegedly approached them to negotiate the withdrawal of the case. “Unfortunately, we realised the case file got stuck somewhere within the State Ministry of Justice. More worrisome was when these boys were bragging in town that the case had been buried,” he alleged. He said he later met with the Attorney-General and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Legal Matters, after which efforts were made to locate the missing case file. Speaking by phone with PUNCH Metro on Wednesday, Ifonlaja said the disappearance of the case file had heightened his client’s concerns about the handling of the matter. Food, beverage firms lead Nigeria’s real investments with N375bn Man allegedly mistaken for cultist killed in Ogun Panic as Ogun teenager declared missing after eight days The lawyer said the DPP’s legal advice subsequently acknowledged that a prima facie case existed against the defendants. “Having reached such a conclusion after acknowledging that the suspects jointly attacked the victims with dangerous weapons and dispossessed them of valuables, it remains difficult to reconcile the omission of several grave offences from the charges eventually recommended for prosecution,” he said. Ifonlaja also alleged that the suspects who benefited from the legal advice had continued to enjoy their liberty on bail while the victims awaited justice. He further alleged that Azeez had experienced another criminal matter in 2024 in which suspects were released despite the outcome of a police investigation. According to him, the recurring experience had raised concerns in his client’s mind about whether victims of violent crimes would receive adequate protection under the law. The lawyer urged the Attorney-General to urgently revisit the April 16 petition, review the February 24 legal advice and determine whether the charges adequately reflected the findings contained in the police case file and the DPP’s observations. He also asked the ministry to take appropriate steps to ensure justice was done and communicate its decision to his chambers. However, when contacted on Wednesday, the Ogun State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice said the DPP’s decision was based on the facts contained in the police case file and the circumstances surrounding the incident. Ogungbade said the case arose from a land dispute between the parties and involved an alleged disruption of a meeting on the disputed property, during which some people were assaulted and money was allegedly missing. The commissioner said the circumstances did not support an armed robbery charge. “We will never charge those people for armed robbery because what happened on that day was not armed robbery; it was assault, and that is what we have charged them for,” he said. Ogungbade also explained that prosecutors had discretion, within the law, to determine appropriate charges based on the facts of a case and the interest of justice. “There is something called prosecutorial discretion. The prosecutor has the discretion, which, of course, must be according to law, based on the facts and the need to attain justice. “Even where an offence has been committed, and the facts support the commission of an offence, in some cases, you will prosecute for that offence; in some cases, based on the facts and the need for justice, you will prosecute for a lesser offence; and in some cases, you will not even prosecute at all,” he said. The commissioner said the police investigation was considered in reaching the decision, adding that the case file indicated that the dispute between the parties was fundamentally a land matter. Asked about the police recommendation concerning the suspects, Ogungbade said he did not have the DPP’s legal advice before him and could not comment on the specific number of suspects released. He, however, maintained that the ministry’s position was to prosecute the suspects for assault and not armed robbery. Dayo Oyewo Dayo is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over nine years of experience covering politics, entertainment, crime, and environmental conservation. His reporting blends advocacy and accountability journalism, focusing on stories that inspire awareness and social change. Dayo’s work reflects practical newsroom experience and a strong commitment to public-interest reporting.

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