Kogi Senator now has 3 criminal cases in 3 courts
Melaye has been battling the law on many fronts in 2018 and is currently stretched thin.
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The lawmaker representing Kogi West showed up in court on a stretcher and appeared to be unconscious just as he was when he was rushed to a hospital in the capital city last week.
The lawmaker has been embroiled in controversy after controversy and become entangled with the police over the past few months.
His arraignment before the court on Wednesday earns him the unwanted distinction of clocking three criminal cases that have been filed against him in court in two different states.
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Here is a quick rundown of all three:
1. Giving police false information
Earlier this year, the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation filed a lawsuit against Melaye for allegedly providing false information to the police about an assassination attempt on his life.
In the suit (CR/106/18) filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Maitama on January 31, 2018, Melaye is accused of falsely incriminating Kogi's Governor Yahaya Bello's Chief of Staff, Edward Onoja David, as well as making false statement in regards to the attempted assassination.
In the first count, he is accused of falsely incriminating Edward David in his assassination attempt claim. Melaye is accused of deliberately giving false information to the police to frame David as the mastermind of the assassination attempt on his life at his hometown in Ayetoro-Gbede in Kogi state on April 17, 2017.
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According to the charge, the police discovered the alleged falsehood in Melaye's claim while investigating his allegation.
In the second count, Melaye is accused of making with Mohammed Abubakar, son of the late ex-governor of Kogi state, Abubakar Audu, with the intention of harming the reputation of David.
On March 1, Melaye was granted a N100,000 bail after he was asked to provide a surety who is not less than a level 14 in the Federal Civil Service.
The presiding judge, Olasumbo Goodluck, adjourned till May 16 and May 17 for the commencement of trial.
2. Unlawful possession of firearms
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After Kabiru Saidu, a.k.a Osama, and Nuhu Salisu, aka Small, were arrested at Ogojueje in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi on January 19, 2018, they confessed to the police that Senator Melaye hired them to cause unrest in the state ahead of the 2019 general elections.
The criminal suspects revealed that the lawmaker handed them a bag containing one AK-47 rifle, two pump action guns and the sum of N430,000 to recruit hardened troublemakers and unleash mayhem in Kogi.
The police first requested Melaye's presence in a letter addressed to Senate President, Bukola Saraki, dated March 2, 2018, urging him to report to the Police on March 7 to answer to the criminal offences levelled against him, but he refused the invitation, alleging that the police was colluding with the Kogi state government to cause him harm.
He was officially declared wanted by the police on March 28, the same day he was due to be arraigned in court in Lokoja over the charges of criminal conspiracy and unlawful possession of prohibited firearms alongside OsamaandSmall who both escaped from their prison cell but were rearrested before April 1.
While attempting to travel to Morocco for an official engagement on Monday, April 23, Melaye was stopped by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The operatives seized his international passport to prevent him from leaving the country.
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According to the police, the lawmaker snatched his seized passport from NIS operatives and retreated to his house in Maitama, Abuja, where police officers later laid siege into the early hours of Tuesday, April 24.
Early on Tuesday, he announced that he would pay a visit to police authorities after his police escorts were withdrawn.
On Tuesday afternoon, with help from hoodlums, Melaye briefly escaped from police officers while he was being transported from Abuja to his home state.
Hours later, the Senator resurfaced at the , Abuja, in an ambulance, apparently unconscious, before he was rearrested and moved to the National Hospital.
His two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and unlawful possession of prohibited firearms is pending on his appearance in Kogi state.
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3. Damaging police property and conspiracy to implicate officers
During his arraignment at the Magistrate Court on Wednesday, Melaye was accused of deliberately breaking the side windscreen of a police vehicle when he staged his daring escape. He was also accused by the police of threatening to kill himself in a bid to intentionally put police officers in trouble.
He was charged for criminal conspiracy, causing damage to government property, attempted suicide and escape from lawful custody.
The police arraigned the lawmaker for committing offences punishable under sections 148, 153, 172, 173, 231, and 326 under the Penal Code Act.
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Presiding magistrate, Mabel Segun-Bello, granted the lawmaker bail in the sum of N90 million, with the order that one of the sureties must be a civil servant on grade level 14, and must show evidence of residence in Abuja.
Melaye was also ordered to deposit his international passport with the police as well as report himself at Wuse Zone 2 police station every first working day of the week.
The case was then adjourned till June 6 for proper trial.
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