FG Amends Charges against Senator Misau to Seven

The Federal government on Tuesday amended charges of alleged false injurious allegations against Senator Isa Misau from five to seven.

Misau, who represents Bauchi Central senatorial district at the National Assembly was on October 19, 2017,  arraigned by the federal government on a five-count charge bothering on making false injurious allegation against the Inspector General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris, and the Police Service Commission.

He pleaded not guilty to the all the five count charges read to him.

Following his application for bail, the trial Judge, Justice Ishaq Bello, admitted him to bail in the sum of N5million with two sureties in like sum.

When the trial came up yesterday, Alex Izinyon SAN, counsel to the prosecution, told the court that the minister of justice had issued him a fiat to prosecute the matter.

Izinyon also informed the court of an application to amend the charges from five to seven in order to accommodate additional information.

He also informed the court that he had filed another application seeking to set aside the subpoenaed issued by the court on the IG on November 22.

According to him, the subpoenaed was targeted at embarrassing the IG, adding that it also constitute an abuse of court process.

But counsel to Misau, Joshua Musa (SAN), in his reaction, objected to the application to amend the charge on the grounds that the initial charge on which his client was arraigned was defective.

He held that since the seal of the lawyer who filed the initial charge was not placed on the charge, it cannot be amended.

On the subpoena, ‎he said the IG is not a party to the suit and that there is no law that stopped his client to compel the IG as a witness and to also tender documents needed for his defence.

Justice Bello, however, adjourned hearing on the three applications to December 5.

The two new counts added to the existing five read: “That you Isah Hamman Misau of Hamman Misau Residence, Turaki Street, Misau, Bauchi State on or about August 26, 2017, at Abuja and other part of Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this court, did make a false statement of fact to wit: that the Inspector-General of Police is scoring high marks by making almost half of the mobile commanders in the country, people of his Nupe extraction which said false statement of fact was published in the THISDAY and The Punch Newspapers both on August 26, 2017, knowing that such false statement of fact would harm the reputation of Mr. Ibrahim Kpotun Idris (the serving Inspector-General of Police) and the Nigeria Police Force and you thereby committed an offence.

“That you Isah Hamman Misau of Hamman Misau Residence, Turaki Street, Misau, Bauchi State on or about August 26, 2017, at Abuja and other part on Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this court, did make a false statement of fact wit: that the incumbent IG, based on available records, series of petitions and reports from insiders, has no capacity to run the Police just like the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Mike Okiro, who also lacks similar capacity going by the N300 million scam and others hanging on his neck since 2011 during the presidential primary election of the People's Democratic Party where he served as the head of the security committee which said false statement of fact was published in the THISDAY and the Punch Newspapers both on  August 26, 2017, knowing that such false statement of fact would harm the reputation of Idris, Okiro, the Nigeria Police Force and the PSC and you thereby committed an offence.