A Lagos State High Court on Thursday, sentenced self-styled Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate, Frederick Nwajagu, to one year imprisonment without an option of fine after he was found guilty of impersonation and falsely parading himself as a titled chief in Lagos State which is contrary to the laws of the state.
However, due to the fact that Nwajuga had been in prison custody as an awaiting-trial inmate since 2023, the court declared that he was free to go home having already spent more than one year in prison.
During the trial, a prosecution witness, Mrs. Raulat Ibrahim, a civil servant at the Ministry of Local Governments, Chieftaincy Affairs, and Rural Development, testified that the title of Eze Ndigbo was not a recognised chieftaincy title in Lagos State, explaining that Nwajagu did not parade himself as any of the recognised chiefs, such as the Elegushi of Ikate or Baale of Addo, and emphasised that there was no recognised Oba or chief in Ajao Estate.
Ibrahim explained to the court that the process for confirming a chieftaincy title involves multiple steps, including recommendations from the local government, scrutiny by the Ministry of Justice, and eventual approval by the Governor’s office and that installation as an Oba or chief also requires formal recognition and a certificate issued by the governor.
“There is no installation for a chief without proper recognition. The letter of approval, signed by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, is what confirms recognition as a chief in Lagos State,” she said.
While delivering judgement in the case which has been pending since Nwajagu was arrested on terrorism charges and remanded in 2023, Justice Yetunde Adesanya, dismissed the counts of terrorism filed by the Lagos State government against the convict.
Adesanya held that the prosection team of the state government had failed to prove the terrorism charges against Nwajagu, and acquitted him of all counts related to terrorism but convicted him for violating the Obas and Chiefs Law of Lagos State by unlawfully parading himself as a chief.
Ripples Nigeria had reported how Nwajagu got himself into trouble when he was arrested in April 2023, following a viral video where he was heard threatening to invite members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to Lagos to protect the properties of Igbo residents following a spate of attacks on their businesses and properties.
In the video, Nwajagu who claimed to be the Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate, a suburb of Lagos, was heard saying:
“IPOB, we will invite them. They have no job. All of the IPOB will protect all of our shops. And we have to pay them. We have to mobilize for that. We must have our security so that they will stop attacking us at midnight, in the morning, and in the afternoon.”
Following his arrest, he was first arraigned on May 10, 2023, on nine counts bordering on terrorism, attempts to commit acts of terrorism, participation in terrorism, support for a proscribed entity, and preparation to commit an act of terrorism.
