Crime
Alleged kidnapper, Evans, loses bid to regain freedom
An Igbosere High Court has again threw away the application seeking to quash all charges against suspected kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumere Onwuamadike, also known as Evans.
Evans is standing trial on a fresh five-count charge bordering on conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping and attempted murder, and he had, on May 25, asked the court to quash all the charges filed against him.
In a motion on notice, the defendant had said that all the charges were “grossly defective, repetitive and an abuse of court processes.
However at the resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday, June 26, Justice Adedayo Akintoye while ruling on the application, said the charges filed against Evans did not offend the rule of duplicity as enshrined in the country’s laws and, therefore, lacked merit.
She said: “Looking closely at the proof of evidence, a prima facie case has been established. “The statement of one of the victims stated that Evans shot him with a gun, cleaned the wound by himself and asked the third defendant to look after him (victim).”
The judge also held that the charge was not an abuse of court process, adding that every distinct offence should be charged separately.
She, however, said the information did not offend the rule of duplicity as enshrined in sections 152 and 153 of the administration of criminal justice law of Lagos state just as she said the charges are not defective, the charge disclosed different offences with different facts, different victims and different places.
On whether the court has jurisdiction or not, the judge said the argument was that the court had the power to quash charges. She, however, held that the application to quash charge was premature.
“The defendant must wait until the close of prosecution’s case before filing to quash charge, the application to quash charge and to discharge the defendants is hereby refused and dismissed. The application lacked merit, I so hold,” Akintoye ruled.
