The Nigeria Police Force will on Thursday arraign nine persons held on allegations of murder and armed robbery.
The suspects – Ositadinma, Chukwuebuka Obiekulie A.K.A. Jesus; Daniel Owowo, Ojobo Ifesinachi, A.K.A. Holy White; ex-Cpl Amodu Bernard, A.K.A. No 1; Shedrack John, A.K.A. Shark; Friday Musa, A.K.A.; Oliver Ugorji; and Udogu Chidi Solomon – will be arraigned before a Federal Capital Teritorry High Court.
The suspects were arrested by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) between December 2019 and May 2020 at different locations in Abuja and detained at the SARS facility at ‘abattoir’ in Guzape, Abuja before being transferred to the Suleja Correctional Centre, Niger State, after the charges were filed in December 2020.
Some of the suspects were alleged to have between January and June 2019, while operating as a commercial taxi, attacked different citizens and dispossessed them.
According to the charges filed on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command by Adamu Musa Esq of the Legal/Prosecution Section, the offences contravene sections 97(1) of the Penal Code Law and sections 1 and 2 of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, 2004.
Meanwhile, family members of the defendants have expressed sadness over the delayed arraignment after they went missing for many months.
Mr John Luke, the father of Shedrack John, 28, said his son was shot on the foot when he refused to sign a prewritten confessional statement after his arrest in 2020 while asleep.
Also, the brother to Oliver Orji, Emmanuel Orji, said he last heard from his brother, when he left to his farm one morning in August 2020, and was grateful many months later when he was directed to the correcrional centre to see his brother.
Defence council, Roseline Okoro of the Citizen Commons Advocacy International the Legal Commons said the NGO decided to take up the cases of eight of the defendants after learning of their pathetic story at the Suleja centre.
“At ‘abattoir’, their illegal detention continued until the disbandment of the unit following the #EndSARS nationwide protests. It was at this point and on the 17th day of December 2020 that a Chief Magistrate from the Wuse Chief Magistrates court who visited the detention facility ordered their remand to the Suleja custodial centre for fourteen days, where they have remained without any trial,” Okoro said.
“Surprisingly, the charges against our clients were purportedly filed in December 2020 yet were never served on our clients nor were they informed of their arraignment until we accidentally stumbled on the case on the day for their arraignment.
“This is a blatant disregard for their constitutional rights to a fair hearing and also a clear indication of the unfair treatments the criminal justice system metes to the underprivileged in our society.”
The case of the nine suspects would be heard before Justice Ahmed Madugu.
