Billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike aka Evans,
has disclosed to the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja that the last time he was
fed by the Nigerian Prison authority was five days ago. Mr. Onwuamadike and the
other five accused persons made the complaint during the continuation of their
trial before Justice Hakeem Oshodi on Friday, November 17, 2017
The other defendants are: Uche Amadi, Ogechi Uchechukwu,
Okwuchukwu Nwachukwu, Chilaka Ifeanyi and Victor Chukwunonso Aduba.
Immediately Evans was brought into the courtroom, he and the
other accomplices began agitating about their feeding condition in prison
custody.
According to Evans, the prison authorities deprived him of
change of clothes, food, and water since Wednesday.
"This is unfair, I have not been given food and change
of clothes. I was not given the opportunity to bathe since Wednesday. I
am seriously hungry now. They locked us in one place, no food and no water to
bathe. The last we were fed was when a wife of one of us brought food" he
lamented.
Evans' counsel Olukoya Ogungbeje, and Mr. Aduba's lawyer,
Emmanuel Ochai, also attested to the fact that their clients are
being starved.
Mr. Ogungbeje sought permission to go buy food for his
clients, pleading that only a living person can stand trial.
Mr. Ogungbeje said; "apart from being starved my lord,
they are locked up in solitary confinement with no access to anybody. If this
continues, they may not be in the right frame of mind to continue the
trial".
Having listened to the reactions, the presiding judge
ordered the prosecutor, Ms. Titilayo Shittay-Bey, to investigate the
accusation.
"The Director of Public Prosecution should please investigate
these allegations. A defendant is innocent until he is proven guilty by a
competent court," he said.
He also scolded the laed lawyer to Evans, Mr. Ogungbeje- for
seemingly threatening the court. "Do not threaten the court" the
judge retorted.
The Lagos State Prosecutor, Ms. Shitta-Bey, in her
response told the court that the prosecution would promptly investigate the
allegations.
At the resumption of hearing, Justice Oshodi threw out the
bail application filed by the only female defendant, Ogechi Uchechukwu,
asking to be released on bail.
The said he found no merit in her application for bail,
stating that the defendant has no concrete base in Lagos and would constitute a
flight risk.
"The 6th defendant claims that the police only arrested
her because she is the wife of one of the defendants. But according to the
prosecution, the No 21, Ishaye street Igando apartment where the victims of the
kidnapping ring were allegedly kept, was rented in her name.
"In her statement, she claimed that her husband
and the 1st defendant were business partners who deal in drugs, claims
which need to be proved before this court. I hereby find no merit in this
application, and the defendant should be kept in custody for her own safety due
to the severity of the case," the judge ruled.
The judge thereafter adjourned the matter until
January 19, 2018, for cross-examination of the first witness and
continuation of trial.
SaharaReporters
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