Abia: Ex-Soldier remanded in prison over killing of civilian

A Magistrate Court 1, sitting in Umuahia and presided over by Chief Magistrate Linda Ugboaja has remanded a dismissed 27-year-old military officer in prison over the murder of late Chimobi Jeremiah, a motorcycle operator.

According to the charge sheet with reference number U/5876/2019, the prosecuting counsel, Barrister Adeyemi Olukoya, said the accused ex-military officer on the 7th day of August 2019 at Umuokereke Ngwa Obingwa local government in Obingwa magisterial district unlawfully killed one Chimobi Jeremiah Nwogu, male, by shooting him with an AK47 rifle thereby committing an offence punishable under section 319 of the Criminal Code, Cap 80 volume 3 law of Abia State, 2005.”

The accused who is 27 years old and from Kabba Bunu local government area of Kogi state was demoted to the rank of a private and summarily dismissed from Nigeria Army.

The 19 year old wife of the deceased who identified herself as Chiamaka and a mother of two said the death of her husband has brought untold hardship on the family as her husband is the bread winner of the family.

She said upon the refusal of the deceased to offer a bribe of 100 Naira to the officer at the military check point, when the attention of the dismissed soldier was diverted, the deceased took off with his motorcycle, as a result the action; the trigger-happy soldier was infuriated and chased the deceased to a distance of five miles and shot him at close range on his head with AK47 rifle.

Also, counsel to the deceased’s family, Chibuzor Adiele, disclosed that the dismissed military officer after killing the deceased entered into a nearby barbing saloon to have a hair cut and shave to disguise himself.

Ruling on the matter, Chief Magistrate Linda Ugboaja said the magistrate Court has no jurisdiction to entertain murder case but remanded him in prison and ordered that the case file be transferred to the Director of Public Prosecution to be assigned to a Judge of the High Court.