The trial of alleged kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike popularly known as Evans, took a new twist yesterday, Tuesday September 11th after the suspect denied ever making any assertion to the police, confessing to be a serial kidnapper.
At the resumed hearing of his trial at the Ikeja high court, Evans via his counsel, Chino Obiagu, made the denial following an attempt via the state Prosecuting counsel, Adebayo Haroun, to tender documents containing the declaration of the 1st defendant (Evans) as exhibits before Justice Hakeem Oshodi.
Evans, through Obiagu, said the purported statement was not written by him neither was it voluntarily made as claimed by the police.
The 5 suspected members of his gang namely: Uchenna Amadi, Okwuchukwu Nwachukwu, Ogechi Uchechukwu (the only female in the gang) and Ex-navy officers, Chilaka Ifeanyi and Victor Chukwunonso Aduba, who also are standing trial with him, denied ever making any statement to the police.
Their counsel, argued that the statement sort to be tendered by the prosecutor was written by a policeman, Inspector Idowu Haruna attached to Inspector general of Police Intelligence response team.
Obiagu additionally objected to the tendering of a video clip, during trial within trial, displaying Evans confessing to the crime on the police station considering it does not corroborate with section 84 of the evidence Act.
“I object to the admissibility of this report because the 1st defendant didn’t make them voluntarily and i am also yet to be served with a duplicate of the video or the certified true copy.”Obiagu told Justice Oshodi
The police officer, Inspector Haruna, who the suspects accused of writing the false statements, informed the court that he wrote the statement on behalf of Evans, after he was arrested on June 2017, due to the fact he claimed he didn’t complete Secondary school and therefore couldn't write properly in English language.
Haruna, while being led in evidence, said that Evans and his gang members all volunteered their statements under caution after being charged with the offence of criminal conspiracy and kidnapping.
“I got to know the defendants when they were arrested for the kidnap of one Mr Donatus Dunu- the managing Director of Maydon pharmaceutical agency, who escaped from their custody at Igando area, Lagos.
While the matter was stated my department at the IGP response team, we immediately visited the scene where the abductors had held him and observed it was a well fenced and furnished bungalow with flats; similar to any normal building.
Having observed that their victim had escaped, they gang abandoned the house before we got there. We performed a search and discovered numerous Ak47 rifles (military version) and pistols which they left behind.
It was through our investigation and items recovered from the building that we arrested Uchenna Amadi, who had ran to seek refuge at Port-Harcourt. Amadi, in the course of interrogation, confessed that Evans was the mastermind and leader of their gang.
This information brought about the arrest of Evans at Igando area when he was about to run out of the country to Ghana.
During Evans testimony, he referred to other members of his gang like Ifeanyi and Aduba, who're former army officers; Nwachukwu aka “Congo”-who is the agent and informant that sold information of victims to kidnap; Uchenna Amadi and his wife Ogechi.
My team also made a video recording of Evans confession and narration of all his kidnapping activities before and after he came to Lagos in 2013.
After volunteering their statements, it was read to them and they signed. I, however, signed as the recorder. A number of the suspects recorded their statements by themselves however I personally recorded the statement of Evans and Victor Aduba.
Their statement was further read to them again by a superior police officer, CSP Philip (former DSP) and all of them agreed to have volunteered without duress. Evans, however, informed us that he in no way imagined he could ever be caught because he has no other means of livelihood aside from crime-kidnapping and armed robbery,” the witness stated.
Justice Oshodi thereafter adjourned the case until October 26 for ruling on admissibility of documents and continuation of trial within trial.
This is Nigeria where every thing is possible
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