RismadarVoice Reporters, June 11, 2026
A legal practitioner and human rights activist, Barrister Victor Giwa, has accused a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Apo of frustrating his bid to travel abroad for urgent medical treatment, alleging that repeated adjournments have endangered his health.
Giwa made the claims in a motion filed before the court, where he is standing trial over alleged forgery. He said the court’s handling of his application for the release of his international passport has repeatedly disrupted his medical appointments in the United Kingdom.
According to him, the matter has been adjourned several times from May 25, 2026, to June 3, and subsequently to June 10 preventing him from honouring scheduled consultations with his doctor in the UK.
“This court has shown ‘personal interest’ in this case and has deliberately adjourned the hearing of my application for the release of my passport… to deliberately frustrate my scheduled appointment with my GP in the UK,” he stated in the motion.
Giwa further told the court that his health condition had deteriorated, alleging that he is suffering from elevated blood pressure and heart-related complications that require urgent medical attention abroad.
He claimed his blood pressure had risen to 170/120 mmHg, warning that failure to receive timely treatment could expose him to risks of stroke or cardiac arrest.
The lawyer explained that he is seeking temporary release of his passport to enable him to travel between July 5 and July 22, 2026, for medical care, insisting that he has already missed earlier appointments due to the court proceedings.
He also alleged that he is being “persecuted rather than prosecuted,” claiming that certain individuals within the police system are influencing the case against him for personal reasons.
Giwa further accused a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police and other unnamed individuals of using state institutions to target him, describing the prosecution as a form of vendetta.
“That I know of a fact that I am being persecuted, not prosecuted… using this Honourable Court as a weapon against me to settle personal scores,” he said in his affidavit.
The Inspector-General of Police is prosecuting Giwa over allegations of forgery involving a Senior Advocate of Nigeria’s letterhead. The case reportedly stems from a petition filed by a staff member of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
However, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Awa Kalu, has denied filing any complaint against Giwa, stating in correspondence to the police that his firm never reported such an allegation.
Despite Kalu’s denial, the police proceeded with the charges, and the case remains before the court as legal arguments continue.
