Britons’ case withdrawal: Court Affirms Lagos Attorney General’s Action

The Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem’s action to withdraw a criminal case instituted against two Britons, Deepak Khilani and Sushil Chandra has been validation by the Lagos High Court.

In a judgement delivered by Justice Owolabi Dabiri of the Lagos High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square on Thursday, the justice dismissed the court’s action of the claimant, “The Incorporated Trustees of Law and Awareness Initiative,” challenging the power of Kazeem, to withdraw a pending criminal case instituted against the duo by way of a Nolli Prosequi.

The court held that Kazeem validly exercised his power of Nolli Prosequi as granted in section 211 of the 1999 constitution in withdrawing the criminal charges against the two defendants.

Dabiri stated further that section 211 of the 1999 constitution vested in the Attorney General the power to institute, takeover, continue and to discontinue at any stage before judgement was delivered in any criminal proceeding instituted or undertaken by him or any other authority or person.

According to him, Section 211 that devised the power to the Attorney General, however, qualified that the power required the Attorney General to consider the interest of the public, the interest of justice and the need to prevent abuse of processes in the exercise of that power.

The court also held that “the Director, Public Prosecutions, Titilayo Shitta-Bey, having clearly explained the ground of public interest upon which the decision of the Attorney General was based and same was not controverted by the applicant, thus the exercise of the power was lawful and valid.”

In addition, the court held that “the Applicant has no iota or shred of locus standi to have brought this action against the Honourable Attorney General being that the applicant was not a party to the withdrawn case and not representing the complainant, as such is held as a busy body who has no legal right or locus standi to approach the Court”.

The case was therefore dismissed.

Earlier in the hearing of the matter, the claimant had asserted that the action of the Attorney General in discontinuing the case did not consider public interest and that as such, constituted a violation of section 211 (3) of the 1999 Federal Constitution and also that the action constituted an abuse of court process.

The claimant, therefore, sought for an injunction restraining the Attorney General from exercising such or similar power unless an explanation was made as to the basis of the decision in the case in issue.

The defendant, represented by Shitta-Bey had earlier submitted that the claimant misconceived the law when it argued that the exercise of the power of the Attorney General to issue Nolli Prosequi under section 211 must comply with (3).

She argued that apart from the fact that section 211 was non-justifiable and that the discretion of the defendant could not be questioned in that regard, while citing the case of STATE V ILORI & 2 OTHERS (1983) and AMAEFULE V The state (1988).

She further submitted that the claimant in the case was a mere busy body who had no locus standi or legal capacity to institute the action against the defendant as in the case of AG FEDERATION V AG ABIA STATE.

She prayed the court to dismiss the case.

It will be recalled that Kazeem had in the exercise of his power under section 211 of the 1999 Federal Constitution of Nigeria in a criminal case of Lagos State Vs Deepak Khilani and Sushili Chandra before Hon. Justice Ade Ipaye of the Lagos High Court, issued a Nolli Prosequi withdrawing the case against the defendants on the grounds of public interest.