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The former Chairman of the defunct Citizens International Bank Limited, Lady Joyce Dike Udensi Ifegwu, has filed an application before the Federal High Court in Lagos praying it to determine whether the police can investigate an allegation of forgery of marriage certificate against her for a second time.
According to her originating summons marked as FHC/L/CS/1319/15, the former bank chief wants the court to determine whether the police is still entitled to reinvestigate or investigate her, after men and officers of the Nigerian Police Force in Zone Two command headquarters, Onikan had concluded investigation of the allegations previously.
Listed as respondents in the suit filed on her behalf by the chambers of Bayo Osipitan and Co. are Inspector General of Police, Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi and one Inspector Justus Ogar.
The daughter of the applicant, Mrs. Nnenna Enweliku, nee Dike Udensi, had written a petition against her mother to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone Two on January 27, 2014 alleging that her mother was not legally married to her father and that the marriage certificate she presented for the purpose of getting letter of administration for the estate of their late father, Lord Chief Dike Udensi Ifegwu was forged.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of that investigation by Zone Two Police command, she wrote a second one to the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja detailing the manner and nature of the forgery.
As a result, fresh investigation into the allegation was launched by the police, following which the applicant filed the suit seeking to halt a possible arraignment by the police on the same matter.
The applicant in her suit prayed the court to declare that the defendants lack the power to investigate or reinvestigate allegation of forgery of marriage certificate against her, saying that a suit pending in High Court of Abia between her and three others against the probate registrar and seven others dwells on the issue.
Her suit is supported by 37 paragraph affidavit where she swore that she was lawfully married under the Marriage Act, Native Law and Customs to the late Udensi Ifegwu until his death on July 18, 2012. She averred that she had eight children for the man, including the petitioner who is her first child.
“After my husband’s death, one of my children namely Mrs Nnenna Enweliku (nee Dike Udensi) petitioned the Nigerian Police at Zone 2 command alleging that I was not lawfully married to her father and that I forged the marriage certificate evidencing my marriage to my deceased husband. On the strength of the petition, I was by a letter dated July 7, 2014 summoned to the Zone Two Command Headquarters Onikan, Lagos,” she stated, adding that she made statements to the investigating Police officer on how her late husband misplaced the original marriage certificate contracted at Aba Local government marriage registry in 1978.
She said they could not get a certified true copy of their marriage certificate in 1992 because a registrar whose name she cannot remember informed them that the register containing their marriage certificate was lost in the process of moving documents from the marriage registry in Aba local government to Aba South local government.
“On account of the loss of the registry copy of our 1978 marriage certificate, the then registrar counselled my husband and I to register our marriage through the issuance of another marriage certificate duly signed by both of us in 1992 and also signed by the then marriage registrar.
“In the course of being interrogated by the 3rd defendant, I was informed by him that another petition was written to the second defendant by my daughter on the same subject of allegation of forgery which had earlier been investigated by officer in zone two and which is also a live issue in the suit pending at the High Court of Abia State.
“On August 18, 2015, I was summoned by the 3rd defendant to his Milverton Road, Ikoyi office. During the meeting, the 3rd defendant informed me that he has established that my marriage certificate was forged and that unless I withdraw suit No. HU/159/2013, which I instituted at the Abia State High Court, he will make sure that I face trial for forgery with maximum publicity given to my arraignment and trial,” she swore.
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