•Slams N1m fine against him
•Reprimands lawyer for delayed adjudication

The Supreme Court has directed a lawyer, Yusuf Dankofa, to without any further delay, enter his defense in a four-count charge of  false pretence with intent to defraud by obtaining the sum of N250,000, and another N750,000 contrary to Section 1 (1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act of 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the Act.

Dankofa was charged to court by the Federal Government over the allegation of making false document and using same false document as genuine contrary to Section 364 of the Penal Code.

Justice Sidi Bage of the apex court who gave the order, which received the concurrence endorsement of the other four Justices of the court in an appeal filed by Dankofa against the decision of the High Court of Kaduna State and the Kaduna Division of the Court of Appeal, in a no-case submission he made on the criminal charges, overruled him and asked him to immediately enter his defense. Apart from ordering him to enter defense on the charges, Dankofa was instructed by the apex court to pay the sum of N1 million as cost, payable personally.

Following his arraignment before the High Court of Kaduna State on Advance Fee Fraud, and the submissions of the prosecution, Dankofa pleaded not guilty and made a no-case submission which was overruled by the court and was ordered to enter his defence. He then appealled against the decision of the High Court which was struck out by the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, on 13th February 2014, which formed the basis of further appeal to the Supreme Court.

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Delivering the ruling of the apex court which was affirmed by the other Justices on the panel, Justice Bage said: “I resolve the sole issue formulated in favour of the respondent (Federal Government).

“I uphold the decision of the Court below (Court of Appeal) to the extent, this appeal is incompetent by virtue of the combined effect of the provisions of Section 241(1) and 242(1).

“For the avoidance of doubts, I hold that this appeal lacks merit and is accordingly dismissed. The Appellant is again directed to enter his defence to the charges preferred against him”.

He expressed “our displeasure at needless dilatory tactics of the appellant in this appeal”, adding that “as a legal practitioner, the appellant knows, or ought to know, that justice should never be allowed to be sacrificed on the altar of infamy of a lawyer lacking in the level of probity expected of gentlemen of the bar”.

The Supreme Court Justice added that: “The deliberate act of hurling obstacles on the highway of justice by crucial stakeholders like legal practitioners is, to say the least, unprofessional, retrogressive and highly reprehensible. I dare say it should also form the basis of further recourse at the level of disciplinary organs of the Nigerian Bar, subject to the outcome of the retrial of the subject matter of this appeal, which the four-count charge is pending against the Appellant.

“This is one situation in which this Court must rise-up to the occasion in defence of justice, which is often denied by delay, and send the right signal to potential violators like the Appellant.

“In view of this background, I award cost of One Million Naira Only (N1,000,000) against the Appellant, payable personally”.

Vanguard