Trader Drags Magistrate, 9 Others To Court For Demanding Bribe

A trader, Mr Joseph Okonkwo has dragged a Chief Magistrate, Mr Saidu Audu and nine others to an Enugu State High Court for allegedly demanding money from him to pervert the course of justice.

Those sued along with Audu include the Registrar of Obollo Afor Magistrate Court, the bailiff, the Sheriff, Enugu State Judiciary, the Deputy Sheriff of the state Judiciary, The Magistrate Court, Obollo Afor, Chief Chinwe Eze, the Nigeria Police Force, the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State and the Divisional Police Officer, Udenu Police Division.

In a suit number OB/16M/2016 filed before an Enugu High Court sitting at Obollo Afor, Okonkwo stated that the said Chief Magistrate Audu threatened to give judgement in favour of his opponent in a matter before his court if he failed to bribe him.


In an affidavit filed by Okonkwo’s Counsel, Barrister Nick Abugu, the plaintiff claimed that Audu used his telephone number 07060908799 to make three different calls to his younger brother, Francis Okonkwo, asking him (Francis) to facilitate the collection of the money without which, judgement would be entered against him.

According to the plaintiff, Audu had been behaving as if he was an interested party in the case judging from his strange behaviour in the matter, as he had threatened to give him the “Dickson Udoka treatment.”

The plaintiff stated that Dickson Udoka was a respondent in a suit MOB/4/2010 before Audu, adding that Dickson was still giving evidence in the case when judgement was entered against him.