A Federal High Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has criticised lawyers in the state Ministry of Justice for filing similar criminal charges against the same defendants before different courts over the same alleged offence.
Justice Toyin Adegoke described the practice as unacceptable and warned that permitting parallel proceedings could expose the defendants to double jeopardy and amount to an abuse of the judicial process.
The judge made the observation during proceedings in an alleged advance-fee fraud case involving Adeboye Taiwo Bamigbaye, Samuel Adeboye and Matthew Adeboye Bamigbaye.
The Ondo State Ministry of Justice, represented by O.E. Akintan, had filed charges against the defendants before both the Federal High Court in Akure and the Ondo State High Court.
Counsel to the defendants, S.A. Iluyemi, consequently raised a preliminary objection and asked the Federal High Court to strike out the charge before it on the grounds that his clients were already standing trial over the same allegations before the state High Court.
Iluyemi argued that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter and described the subsequent charge as a multiplicity of actions and an abuse of court process.
The objection, brought pursuant to Section 6(6) of the 1999 Constitution, stated that the complainant filed Charge No. HOD/1C/2025 before the Ondo State High Court on January 27, 2025.
It added that an allegedly identical charge, marked FHC/AK/6C/2025, was subsequently filed before the Federal High Court on February 27, 2025.
According to the defence, both cases involved the same defendants, allegations, subject matter and issues, making the later filing oppressive and legally improper.
An affidavit deposed to by a legal practitioner, Toheeb Giwa, stated that the defendants—described as a father, wife and son—were initially arraigned before the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ondo in Charge No. MOD/154C/2024 under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006.
The defence argued that the Magistrate’s Court lacked jurisdiction to try the alleged offence.
According to the affidavit, the magistrate ordered the defendants’ remand in police custody at the Yaba Divisional Headquarters in Ondo, after which they were transferred to the Ondo Correctional Centre pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
The defendants reportedly remained in custody for more than two months before they were granted bail following an application by their lawyer.
Following the DPP’s legal advice, they were arraigned before the Ondo State High Court in Charge No. HOD/1C/2025, and the matter was fixed for hearing on November 12, 2025.
The defence alleged that despite the pendency of the state High Court proceedings, the prosecution filed another charge before the Federal High Court to harass, victimise and embarrass the defendants.
It maintained that subjecting the defendants to simultaneous prosecutions over the same allegations undermined the administration of criminal justice.
Responding, Akintan informed the court that efforts had already been initiated to withdraw the charge before the Ondo State High Court so that the prosecution could proceed solely before the Federal High Court.
Justice Adegoke, however, said the court would not tolerate any arrangement capable of exposing the defendants to multiple proceedings over the same alleged offence.
The judge directed the prosecution to ensure that the charge pending before the Ondo State High Court was formally withdrawn before the next adjourned date.
The matter was adjourned until September 22, 2026, for the hearing of the defendants’ preliminary objection and further proceedings.
