By Huldah Shado
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Edwin Anikwenu, alongside thirteen lawyers from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Garki Branch, appeared at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Apo, Abuja, on Wednesday, to represent human rights lawyer, Victor Giwa, who is standing trial on charges of forgery.
According to the police, Giwa was accused of falsifying the official letterhead of prominent lawyer, Prof. Awa Kalu (SAN). During Wednesday’s proceedings, Anikwenu, who led the defense team, urged the court to grant Giwa bail either on self-recognizance or to release him into the custody of an executive member of the NBA, Garki Branch.
The application for bail was backed by an affidavit sworn to by one Abu Gabriel, who affirmed that Giwa would not abscond or interfere with the ongoing judicial process, noting that police investigations had already been concluded.
However, the prosecution counsel, Eristo ASAP, opposed the bail request, arguing that freeing the defendant at this stage could undermine the integrity of the case currently before the court.
Delivering his ruling, Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie emphasized that the decision to grant bail lies within the court’s discretion, adding that the alleged crime is a bailable one. He consequently admitted Giwa to bail in the sum of N30 million, with two sureties in the same amount. The court further directed that the sureties must be serving public officers of at least director level, each with a valid official identity card. The defendant was also ordered to surrender his travel documents to the court registrar.
It will be recalled that Prof. Kalu had previously addressed a letter to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), distancing himself from the forgery and impersonation allegations leveled against Giwa. Despite this clarification, the police proceeded with the criminal charge.
Giwa, who had been held in police custody for nearly three weeks, was reportedly denied bail during that period under a court order.
In his letter to the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, Prof. Kalu stated unequivocally that his firm’s letterhead had not been forged and that he never lodged any complaint to the police suggesting such an occurrence.
The correspondence, dated May 30, 2025, addressed to the Inspector-General of Police, was in reaction to Charge No. CR/150/25, which accused Giwa of using the letterhead of “Awa U. Kalu (SAN) and Partners,” formerly known as “Awa U. Kalu (SAN) and Associates,” to correspond with the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Prof. Kalu wrote that he became aware of online reports alleging that Giwa had forged his official document, but he clarified that he neither submitted a formal complaint nor reported the lawyer to any police station in Nigeria.
His statement, which effectively discredited the basis of the police charge, highlighted that there was no official petition or report from him regarding the alleged forgery, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the prosecution’s claim.
