Legal Drama

Jim Iyke Arraigned in Criminal Court on 15Million Naira Criminal Force, Fraud and Assault Charges – What it all Means

Nollywood’s self proclaimed bad boy, Jim Iyke, always seems to have a run in with the law. Let’s take a quick look at the latest news reported by 234 NEXT and then I’ll tell you all, quickly, what it means in English.

“A film actor, Jim Iyke, 35, was on Thursday arraigned before an Abuja Chief Magistrates’ Court charged with N15 million fraud.

The Police Prosecutor, Mr Chijoke Okezie, told the court that on Aug. 8, Habiba Abubakar wrote a petition to the Inspector General of Police (IG) to investigate the fraud.

He said that investigation into the case revealed that the accused, a resident of Sunnyville Estate, Abuja, deceived Abubakar into acquiring 15 per cent equity shares to the tune of N15 million from his company, Untamed Records Ltd.

Okezie said the accused admitted that the complainant paid the money into his Oceanic Bank account No. 00500173691, deviating from his initial plan of investment and converted the money to his personal use.

He added that when the complainant confronted the accused, he resorted to beating her and threatened to kill her.

Okezie said the accused was charged with criminal breach of trust, criminal force, assault, cheating and criminal misappropriation which contravened sections 312,265,322 397 and 309 of the Penal Code.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Counsel to the accused, Esther Uzoma, made an oral bail application for the accused in pursuit of section 341(2) of the Criminal Procedural Code. . .

First things first, I practice criminal defense law, along with fashion and entertainment law in California, USA. Which means I am not a licensed attorney in Nigeria. If you have been arrested in Nigeria, you need to get a criminal lawyer there ASAP. If you have been arrested or cited and face criminal charges in the USA, consult with an attorney in the city where you reside ASAP!

In the Baba Suwe criminal case, I introduced you all to Nigeria’s criminal procedure system and informed you all there were many parallels  with the USA’s in my analysis. Let’s take a look at the current Jim Iyke case to see how the parallels play out.

1. The Arrest
Per Nigeria’s criminal law and procedure, an arrest has to happen before you are brought before a court of law. In California, USA, the DA has 48hours from the time you are arrested to bring you before a judge to be arraigned. In Nigeria, the Ministry of Justice’s prosecutor(s) have 24hours to do the same.

2. Bail
When you are arrested in Nigeria, the police can set bail before the prosecutor brings you before a judge. When you are arrested in the USA, while the police can set bail, especially where a warrant is issued for your arrest, typically, it is at your arraignment in court that bail is set, by a judge. For both the police and the judges in the USA, bail is not arbitrary. There is a bail schedule that tells how much bail each crime is worth and it is predetermined before an arrest is made. Depending on the crime i.e. murder,  a criminal defendant may not get bail.

3. The Charges
In Nigeria, before you get to court, the police/prosecutor should give you an idea, directly or through your attorney, of what you were charged with. It is the exact same situation here in the USA. What is Jim Iyke charged with in our story? The charges are as follows:

“Okezie said the accused admitted that the complainant paid the money into his Oceanic Bank account No. 00500173691, deviating from his initial plan of investment and converted the money to his personal use.

He added that when the complainant confronted the accused, he resorted to beating her and threatened to kill her.

Okezie said the accused was charged with criminal breach of trust, criminal force, assault, cheating and criminal misappropriation (essentially fraud)which contravened sections 312,265,322 397 and 309 of the Penal Code.”

4. The Arraignment
The “arraignment” is a legal fancy word for saying your first day in court where you get to know what all the fuss against you is about. In Nigeria, the Judge, like in the Jim Iyke story, tells you what you were charged with. The judge should read you your rights and ask how you plead i.e. guilty or not guilty. In the USA, its is a similar procedure. We do add a “no contest” plea to the mix. This means you can plead guilty, not guilty or no contest. Finally, for the Judge and all attorneys, there is one more house keeping item that must be decided. That house keeping item is whether you, the defendant, should be released on bail. In the USA, courts will look at your ties to the community, the seriousness of the crime, whether you have a criminal record, whether you are a flight risk etc. They assess all that in what we defense lawyers and the law calls release on “OR” meaning your own recognizance. If all checks out, you will be released on OR pending next court hearing. If all does not  check out, then the judge can release you on bail or not release you at all.

Nigeria’s system parallels the US’s criminal procedure system in this regard. The facts tell us Jim Iyke pleaded not guilty. In addition, his lawyer argued he should be released on bail. Specifically, “she prayed the court to grant the accused bail on liberal terms and for self recognition, and promised that the accused would not jump bail.”The prosecutor objected. The court made a final decision to release Iyke on a 500,000 Naira bail. Iyke will be back in court on December 9th, 2011.

It is very interesting that these criminal charges, arrest and arraignment come after Jim Iyke’s recent purchase of two expensive cars and a press release on his upcoming clothing store opening in Abuja.

234 NEXT has the full story.

Cheers,

Uduak

p.s. Solid reporting by 234 NEXT BUT why did he list Iyke’s account number? Was that necessary?

Africa Music Law™

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ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Credited for several firsts in the fashion and entertainment industry, Uduak Oduok (Ms. Uduak) is a fashion and entertainment lawyer, speaker, visionary, gamechanger, trailblazer, and recognized thought leader, for her work on Africa’s emerging global fashion and entertainment markets, and the niche practice of fashion law in the United States. She is also the founder of ‘Africa Music Law,’ an industry go-to music business and law blog and podcast show empowering African artists. Her work in the creative and legal industries has earned her numerous awards and recognitions, including an award from the American University Washington College of Law for her “legal impact in the field of intellectual property in Africa." She has also taught as an Adjunct Professor at several institutions in the United States. For more information, visit her at https://msuduak.com.

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1 Comment

  1. Nelson 'kime' Akeem says:

    That A/C numba is nt neccessary,are they tryin 2 claim it 2 b an evidence,afterall J Iyke aceptd d allegation.

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