A Magistrate Court sitting in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, has struck out a controversial criminal suit that exposed the uneasy intersection of power, police influence, and private disputes at the highest levels of government, discharging businesswoman Tracyniter Nicholas Ohiri of allegations that once threatened her liberty and reputation.
The suit, bordering on alleged criminal defamation and cyberbullying, was filed by the Nigerian Police on behalf of the Minister of Works, David Umahi, after Ohiri publicly accused him of refusing to pay for goods and services she claimed to have supplied. Her allegations went further, painting a disturbing picture of intimidation, unlawful detention, and the alleged use of senior police officers as instruments of personal retaliation after she reportedly rejected advances linked to the minister.
But in a dramatic twist that raises more questions than it answers, the prosecution itself pulled the brakes.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday before Magistrate Ibraheem Ope, police prosecutor Wisdom Patrick informed the court of an application to discontinue the matter, citing Section 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015. The application, dated March 24, 2026, effectively dismantled the case from within.
With little resistance, the court granted the request, struck out the charges, and discharged the defendant along with her sureties, bringing an abrupt end to a case that had already drawn public scrutiny over its origins and intent.
Ohiri had earlier been granted bail on February 26, 2026, in the sum of N1 million with two sureties in like sum. Her absence at the latest proceedings, her lawyer A.K. Musa told the court, was due to bereavement, a development formally communicated and admitted into evidence.
Yet, beyond the legal technicalities, the courtroom outcome has ignited a deeper conversation about the use of state machinery in personal disputes.
Human rights activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, who stood as one of Ohiri’s sureties, did not mince words in his reaction. He described the case as a textbook example of how law enforcement agencies manipulate judicial processes to detain individuals under questionable legal grounds.
According to him, the filing of cybercrime-related allegations before a magistrate court widely seen as lacking jurisdiction over such matters, was not accidental but strategic.
“You know how the police always play their games. When they want to detain somebody indefinitely, they will go to the wrong forum to obtain detention or remand orders that are then used to punish people in advance for the crime they claim they committed,” Sowore said.
With the charges now withdrawn, Sowore confirmed that all sureties, including himself, have been discharged, emphasizing that the case “no longer exists” in the eyes of the law.
Behind the scenes, however, another layer of the story is unfolding.
Sources indicate that a related matter has already been filed before a Federal High Court, suggesting that the legal battle may not be entirely over. Still, Sowore insists that the core dispute between the minister and the businesswoman has already been resolved, hinting at a quiet settlement that contrasts sharply with the earlier aggressive legal posture.
“Our position is that the Minister has settled the case between him and Tracy. So, there is no basis for any other criminal charges over the matter,” he stated.
Ohiri’s legal counsel echoed this position, questioning the logic and legality of pursuing parallel charges after an apparent resolution had been reached. He argued that alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, once activated and successful, should bring finality rather than open new fronts of prosecution.
More pointedly, Musa alleged that the initial approach to the magistrate court was never about justice, but about detention.
“They knew the appropriate court to approach, but they only came before this court because they wanted to obtain a remand warrant to keep her unduly in prison,” he said.
The collapse of the case leaves behind a trail of unresolved concerns: the role of the police in civil disputes, the boundaries of ministerial influence, and the recurring pattern of using criminal charges as leverage in personal or financial disagreements.
For observers, it is not just a case struck out it is a window into a system where power can initiate prosecution, but resolution often happens quietly, away from the public eye.
And as the dust settles in Wuse Zone 2, the lingering question remains: was justice served, or simply negotiated?