Lagos Lawyer lands In Court Over Blackmail

A Lagos based lawyer Luke Emejulu 61 has been arraigned before an Ikeja  magistrate court over an allegation that he threatened the life of the Chief Medical Director of the General Hospital in Ikorodu and blackmailed him to pay  N700,000 for services he claimed he rendered.

It was gathered that Emejulu had approached one Dr. Olukoya that he had information that Olukoya’s son was arrested and charged to a court in the UK and he allegedly sent text messages to Dr. Olutoya blackmailing him  to pay the said amount or risked the information of his son’s alleged arrest to be published in front pages of major newspapers in the country.

It was gathered that despite alleged repeated threats and blackmail from Barrister Emejulu, Dr. Olukoya refused to part with the money.

It was learnt from a reliable source that the police got involved when Bar. Emejulu wrote a petition to  the Lagos State Police Commissioner Mr. Kayode Aderanti allegeding  that he(Emejulu) offered legal services to Dr. Olukoya’s son but Dr. Olukoya  refused to pay his fees.

READ ALSO: ICPC Quizzes Former Police IG

Narrating the incident, the source who requested anonymity said “CP Aderanti  ordered  the Human Rights Resource Centre at the state command to investigate Bar. Emejulu’s allegation and following detailed investigations.

“The police invited Dr. Olukoya and he shocked the officers when he printed  threat and blackmail text messages he allegedly received from Barrister Emejulu. Dr. Olukoya denied employing the services Emejulu and accused  him of  blackmailing and threatening his life”.

Naij.com  learnt that  the case was transferred to the XSquad Unit where detained for allegedly providing false information to the police and backmailing Dr. Olukoya after sending him threat messages on his phone.

Our correspondent discovered that Bar. Emejulu was granted bail after a fellow lawyer, Lious Mbanafo on January 21st  entered into a bond of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000) to get Emejulu bail .

Police  sources however stated that Emejulu refused bail and went into hiding but was re-arrested by XSquad officers last month and charged to court.

The police arraigned Emejulu in court on June 1 on a two count charge bothering on threat to life and blackmail. The charge sheet obtained from the court read .

“That you, barrister Luke Emejulu on 30th day of December 2014 at about 3:43pm at number 50, Ajose street, Mende Maryland, Lagos in the Lagos Magistrate District, threatened the life of Dr. Olukoya and his family through text message from a cell phone number 08034259090 that if he fails to pay the sum of Seven Hundred Thousand Naira(N700,000) to your GTB account number 0008330337 within 24hrs he will make front news with his family and thereby committed an offense punishable under Section 56 of the Criminal Law of Law of Lagos State 2011″

READ ALSO:  Doyin Okupe Dragged To Court

Count 2 reads, ” that you Bar. Luke Emejulu on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned Magisterial District did unlawfully conducted yourself in a manner likely to cause breach of peace by sending a threatening SMS from your cell phone number 08034259090 to Dr. Monogamist Olukoya that if he refused to pay you the sum of Seven Hundred Thousand Naira (700,000) you will make front-paged news of him and his family and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 166(d) of the criminal law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011″ 

The accused however pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail on self recognition . The case was adjourned to July 20th 2015.

It was further gathered that the police had charged Bar Mbanefo, the lawyer that stood Bar. Emejulu’s bail  to court over his initial failure to produce the accused in the police station.

The  source who requested anonymity said. “He Bar. Emejulu was expected at the XSquad Unit on January 27th but he refused to show up and instead sent series of text messages to the police that he is sueing the IPO and the Lagos State police commissioner, Mr. Kayode Aderanti to the tune of N200million if they do not drop the charges against him and release Mbanefo who had taken a bond of N500,000 for his bail. Emejulu is wanted by the police and he had tarnished his image. 

“He made the police to charge Bar. Mbanefo to court for failure to honour the bond he entered with the police to produce Bar. Emejulu”.

The police arraigned Mbanefo at the Ikeja Magistrate Court on May 4th 2015  for his  failure to honour the bond. The charge sheet obtained by our correspondent stated that “You Louis Mbanefo on the 21st day of January 2015 at about 12.15pm at X Squad Section, Lagos State Police command, Ikeja in the Magisterial District did in accordance with section 118 of the Criminal Justice Administration of Lagos State Nigeria 2011 enter into a bond with the sum of Five Hundred Thousand Naira to produce one Luke Emejulu who was being investigated by the police, whenever the police may need him till the case against him is finally disposed off .

“However, on 27th January, 2015 at 10am,the said Luke Emejulu was required by the police and you failed to produce him, you are hereby required in accordance with section 132 of the Criminal Justice Adminstration of Lagos Stat  of Nigeria, 2011 to show cause why the bail bond entered into on the 21st day of January ,2015 should not be forfeited”. The Magistrate Mrs Y. O Aje- Ajunwa adjourned the case to June 6, 2015 for mention.

The post Lagos Lawyer lands In Court Over Blackmail appeared first on NEWS.NAIJ.COM - Nigerian & worldwide news..