A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has upheld the discharge of Chief Iganima Pepple in a criminal appeal brought by the prosecution, ruling that the evidence failed to establish a link between the defendant and the alleged offences.
The judgment was delivered on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, by Justice Weli Cheychey in Appeal No. PHC/254/CR/2023, Commissioner of Police Vs. Iganima Pepple.
The appeal challenged a ruling delivered on Wednesday, September 28, 2022, by Chief Magistrate A. O. Amadi-Nna, who upheld a no-case submission by the defence and discharged Pepple.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, the prosecution initiated an appeal at the High Court on October 14, 2022.
Following the filing and exchange of briefs of argument and the hearing of the appeal, the court delivered judgment in favour of the defendant.
Justice Cheychey upheld the lower court’s decision, finding that the prosecution had failed to establish a sufficient nexus between the alleged crimes and Pepple.
The judge consequently affirmed the defendant’s discharge and dismissed the criminal charge, according to information made available on the judgment.
The ruling leaves the earlier discharge intact, bringing the appeal to a conclusion in Pepple’s favour.
