Court strikes out Giwa’s motions in forgery, impersonation trial

By Abubakar Yunusa

The Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja, on Wednesday struck out six motions filed by an Abuja-based lawyer, Victor Giwa, in his ongoing trial over alleged forgery and impersonation.

Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie dismissed the motions, including an application seeking his recusal, after Giwa insisted that petitions he wrote to the Chief Judge of the FCT must first be determined before the court could proceed.

The motions, marked M/7057/25, M/12210/25, M/14379/25, M/15452/25, M/16530/25 and M/16695/25, were struck out following Giwa’s refusal to move them.

Giwa and a co-defendant, Bukola, are facing trial over allegations of forging official documents and impersonating a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Awa Kalu, to allegedly mislead the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation into withdrawing an earlier criminal charge against him.

At the resumed hearing, counsel to the Inspector-General of Police, T. Y. Silas, told the court that the prosecution was ready to proceed with pending applications, having already opened its case on October 30, 2025.

Giwa, who appeared in person due to the absence of his counsel, Ibrahim Idris (SAN), objected to further proceedings, accusing the trial judge of bias and urging him to recuse himself in line with Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution and provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.

He also claimed that a letter addressed to the court was rejected by the registrar and insisted he would not participate in the trial pending action on his petitions to the Chief Judge and the National Judicial Council.

Silas opposed the objection, arguing that petitions do not automatically stay criminal proceedings and described Giwa’s applications as a deliberate attempt to delay the trial.

In a bench ruling, Justice Onwuegbuzie held that petitions to the Chief Judge or the NJC do not amount to a stay of proceedings, noting that Giwa’s conduct was aimed at frustrating the trial process.

The judge consequently struck out all six motions and adjourned the case to January 26, 2026.

The court noted that the adjournment date was brought forward following Giwa’s notification that he would be appearing before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee on January 28.