It was learnt that Mr. Udeozo had jumped bail in Uli, Anambra State, some years back, after he was arrested for impersonation.
He allegedly ran to Owerri, where he started practising as lawyer in the chambers of a private firm, until luck ran out on him.
The Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Owerri branch, Lawrence Nwakaeti, invited the police, who arrested him on March 23, 2017.
He was subsequently charged with impersonation, forgery, among other offences, punishable under the country’s criminal code.
The accused was equally said to have presented a forged change of name, which was published in a national daily on September 24, 2012.
Owerri NBA Chairman, Nwakaeti, who announced appearance for the association, told the court that the accused was a serial bail jumper, who had jumped bail in Anambra over the same matter.
He said, “In the interest of our legal profession, which is going down every day, I implore this court to refuse the accused bail.”
The police prosecutor, S. N. Onwuchekwa, urged the court to exercise restraints in granting the accused bail, saying allowing him to walk out as a free man would put the lives of those who would testify against him in court in jeopardy.
The accused, who defended himself because no lawyer agreed to stand in for him, told the court that his certificate of call to bar fell into water.
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges and elected summary trial.
The magistrate, Kadurumba, ordered that he should be remanded in custody until May 10, 2017, when the matter would come up for hearing.
No comments:
Post a Comment