Fredrick Nwajagu, the Eze of Ajao Estate, has been acquitted and discharged of terrorism charges by a Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square.
Gatekeepers News reports that the presiding judge, Yetunde Adesanya, ruled that the Lagos state government failed to prove the terrorism charges against Nwajagu beyond a reasonable doubt.
However, Nwajagu was convicted for parading himself as a titled chief in violation of the Oba and Chiefs Law of Lagos State. He was sentenced to one year in prison, but since he had already spent nearly two years in prison custody, the judge ordered his immediate release.
Nwajagu’s troubles began in April 2023 when he was arrested by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) after a video surfaced online showing him making an “inciting statement.”
In the footage, Nwajagu called on Igbo indigenes in Lagos to recruit members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) to protect their properties from looters.
“IPOB, we will invite them. They have no job. All of the IPOB will protect all of our shops. And we have to pay them. We have to mobilise for that. We have to do that,” he said.
