Just when Nigerians thought no lawyer will step out to defend notorious billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike a.k.a. Evans, Voice Olukoya Ogungbeje has proven to be an exception.

Ogungbeje, who heads Lawflex Chambers and is the Chairman of Voice Vanguard, grabbed the headlines on Wednesday when he filed a fundamental rights suit on behalf of Evans, dragging the Inspector General of Police, and three others before a Federal High Court in Lagos over Evans alleged illegal detention.

In his fundamental rights, the confessed kidnapper is seeking a court order directing the respondents to immediately charge him to court if there is any case against him.

He is in the alternative, seeking an order, compelling the respondents to immediately release him unconditionally in the absence of any offence warranting a charged.

In a 27-paragraph affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Evan’s father, Stephen Onwuamadike, it was averred that the applicant has been subjected to media trial without any court’s order by the respondents.

Evans lawyer, who identified himself on Facebook as Voice Olukoya Ogungbeje had been involved in controversial cases in recent times.

In April, he filed a suit asking the Federal High Court to stay proceedings on the forfeiture of $43,449,947 (about N13bn), N23,218,000 and £27,800 (about N10.6m) found in a flat in Ikoyi, Lagos.

He also sought an order directing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to furnish the court with a report of its preliminary or final investigation on the source of the money, its owner, and how the currencies got into the building.



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Ogungbeje also once filed a suit in Lagos in 2014 asking for the reinstatement of Murtala Nyako as governor of Adamawa state. This was after Nyako was impeached by the state assembly in July of the same year and the speaker of the state assembly had taken over.