"ALUU FOUR MURDER": Current State Of Affairs

Rivers State -- The case of the four
murdered University of Port
Harcourt's (UNIPORT) students
makes all the headlines again as the
trial of the culprits resumes. On
October 5, 2012, the four victims --
Chiadika Biringa (20; of Theatre Arts
Department), Ugonna Obuzor (18;
Geology), Mike Toku Lloyd (20; Civil
Engineering Department), all in
second year studies, and Tekenah
Elkanah, (21; Diploma (Technical)) --
were subjected to the 'jungle justice'
of an angry mob and were ultimately
set ablaze.
The unspeakable act, which took place in
Omuokiri Aluu in Ikwerre Local
Government Area, caused public disgust
and condemnation of global proportion.
The young men were accused of stealing
-- and claims were later rejected by the
police.
Below is a timeline of the painful, rocky
investigation and trial processes which
have not been easy, with the
widespread notion of aiding and abetting
on the crime by the police.
October 16, following media testimony
by a sister to Tekenah, one of the
victims, the police reportedly dismissed
Sergeant Lucky Orji for alleged role in
the murder.
Police investigation reportedly
corroborated Tekenah sister's claim that
Sergeant Orji was present at the scene
of the murder and actually encouraged
the mob to 'deal with' the victims.
Reports say the dismissed policeman
was to be charged to court alongside 13
other suspects.
The added challenge was the task of
apprehending the needed suspects and
adequate police investigation to support
prosecution.
October 17th 2012, twelve days after
the murder, a Magistrate's Court sitting
in Port Harcourt was first to remand 13
suspects brought before it for allegedly
being part of a mob that tortured the
four casualties.
The suspects were in handcuffs and
chains when they appeared in court on
five-count of conspiracy and murder.
Their Charge Sheet, PMC/2009C/2012,
partly read, "That you conspired among
yourselves to commit felony to wit:
murder and thereby committed an
offence punishable under Section 324 of
the criminal code Cap 37 and Section
319 of the criminal code Cap 37 volume
III laws of Rivers State of Nigeria 1999."
Presiding Magistrate Emmanuel Woke
affirmed the court had no jurisdiction to
hear the matter. Woke immediately
transfered the case to the Director of
Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice
and subsequent arraignment in a High
Court. The court also advised the
suspects to seek bail from a High Court.
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Chief Superintendent of Police, Henry
Njoku, stood as counsel for the
prosecution while A.A. Finebone
appeared for the 1st Accused and village
head of Aluu, Alhaji Hassan Walewa
Austine Ojekudo.
Others from the Nigeria Bar Association
and the Human Rights Commission were
in court as concerned parties for what
they termed close monitoring of the case
to ensure that the law takes it proper
course without hounding innocent
persons. This followed concerns of
indiscriminate police arrests over the
matter. The court threafter adjourned till
December 20, 2012.
When the court resumed December
20th, three more suspects were
arraigned. 23-year-old Finebone Jeffrey,
Joshua Ekpe, 27 and Abang Cyril, 27,
were brought under a five-count charge
of conspiracy of murder.
"You and others at large on October 5,
2012, at Omuokiri, Aluu community in
the Port Harcourt Magisterial District, did
conspire amongst yourselves to commit
felony to wit: murder and thereby
committed an offence punishable under
Section 324 of the Criminal Code Cap 37
laws of Rivers State, 1999," the charges
read in part.
As with the first thirteen suspects, their
pleas were rejected with Chief
Magistrate Woke restating that his court
lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case
before adjourning till February 28, 2013.
At this tone of proceeding, the Human
Rights Committee of the Port Harcourt
NBA applied for case file of the suspects.
Chairman of the Committee, Austin
Ojeukeudo said that the "association
wants to ensure that there was no
miscarriage of justice in the trial." The
court ordered release of the demanded
documents to the NBA.
At the resumed hearing, the prosecutor
said he was yet to receive any advice on
the matter from the DPP to whom the
case file was referred.
By February 28, 2013, suspects had risen
to 18. Magistrate Woke discharged seven
of the accused persons for want of
evidence of complicity in the crime after
reading the advice from DPP. Those
discharged include the only female
accused person, Cynthia Chinwo, George
Nwadei, Ekpe Daniel, Gabriel Ochi,
Endurance Edet, Lucky Agwurum, and
Finebone Jeffrey, aka Soso.
The chief magistrate affirmed ,"It is a
trite law that suspicion, no matter how
strong, cannot take place of legal proof
without concrete evidence to
substantiate it, and as such, they were
victims of circumstance, therefore,
charging and prosecuting them will be an
exercise in futility".
The magistrate further said there were
seven other suspects who had been
arrested, granted police bail, but were
yet to be charged to court on the
matter. He said no case had also been
established against them and ordered
that they be discharged too.
"Your original case file will be retained to
enable us file information with proof of
evidence for the avoidance of doubt,
against Lawal Segun, ex-Sergeant Lucky
Orji, Ikechukwu Louis Amadi, aka
Kapoon, David Chinasa Ogbada, Abiodun
Yusuf, Joshua Ekpe, Abang Cyril, Alhaji
Hassan Welewa, Okoghiroh Endurance,
Ozioma Abajuo and Chigozie Evans
Samuel in the Port Harcourt High Court,"
he said
Many keen watchers of the case
consequently raised the question
whether those so freed by the
Magistrate Court were actually innocent
or were beneficiaries of police's poor
prosecutorial commitment and
competence.
The first hearing before the High Court
on April 25, 2013 for the 11 remaining
suspects suffered a setback when the
Presiding Judge, Justice T.S. Orji declined
jurisdiction to adjudicate on the matter.
The DPP led by I.Otorubio and other
lawyers had, that day, announced their
appearances for the matter, but the
Judge declared, "I am related to the
victims by birth and some of the accused
persons by marriage. I know the accused
persons and the victims. My hands are
tied in this matter. I am sitting between
the devil and the deep blue sea."
Justice Orji also became worried to
notice that no counsel appeared for
Ikwuchukwu Louis Amadi, the third
accused person. She ultimately withdrew
from the case, assuring all parties that
she would consequently return the case
file to the state Chief Judge, Justice Iche
Ndu (now retiring) for reassignment.
Counsel to one of the accused persons,
Mr Kennedy Amos, reacting to Justice
Orji's withdrawal, said, "The Bar is
pleased with the decision of the judge in
the interest of justice and to avoid
casting aspersions on the judiciary."
On the 1st of August, a new Judge,
Justice L.L. Nyordee took over, and the
Solicitor General in Rivers State, Rufus N.
Godwins, led the prosecution instead of
the DPP.
The Prosecution, however added one
more suspect arrested by the police,
increasing the number of suspects
standing trial to 12.
Following the additional suspect, Godwin
asked the court for substitution of the
charges earlier filed against the eleven
suspects.
Counsel for the 9th accused, Chief
O.C.J. Okocha (SAN), objected that
arraignment ought to precede
application for withdrawal or substitution
of a charge. Okocha termed the
application as misconceived, adding that
the Prosecution was wrong to have cited
a section that dealt with application
amended in a matter where withdrawal
and substitution of charge were involved.
In his ruling, Justice Nyordee granted the
application and proceeded to strike out
the previous charge. Lawal Segun, Lucky
Orji, Ikechukwu Louis Amadi (aka
Kapoon), David Chinasa Ogbada, Abiodun
Yusuf, Joshua Ekpe, Abang Cyril, Hassan
Welewa, Okoghiroh Endurance, Ozioma
Abajuo and Chigozie Evans Samuel, who
have been in custody since last year in
connection with the murder, then took
their plea, so did John Ayuwu (aka Johny
Barbar) who was being included.
They pleaded not guilty to the two-count
charge of murder and negligence.
Godwins told the court that the accused
committed the offence contrary to
sections 319(1) and 515 of the Criminal
Code Law of Rivers State (1999).
The accused were represented by
counsels. The 3rd and 8th accused who
lacked legal representation at the last
sitting were represented by a team from
the Legal Aid Council, led by Jane
Frances Bianeyi.
After the plea, the Prosecutor adopted
the criminal indictments with proofs of
evidence filed against the accused and
expressed the readiness to call its first
witness but urged the court to remand
the accused in custody.
Counsel to the first accused, Joshua
Kehinde told the court that the crime for
which the accused are charged, is mere
allegation as the law deemed them
innocent until proven otherwise. He told
the court that he had filed bail
application for his client and was ready
to move the motion.
The motion, however, could not be
heard as judge adjourned the matter till
August 15 for hearing on bail applications
realising that some lawyers were yet to
file theirs and some files were yet to
reach the Prosecution.
When trial resumed on August 15th, the
Prosecution led by the Solicitor-General,
Rivers State Ministry of Justice, Rufus
Godwins opened the trial with the first
Prosecution Witness, Raphael Ezeji, a
Senior Police Officer who led
investigation into the Aluu Four killings.
Two sets of suspects were on trial on
separate charges. Charged with murder
are: Lawal Segun, Ex-Sgt. Lucky Orji,
Ikechukwu Louis Amadi (aka Kapoon),
David Chinasa Ogbada, Abiodun Yusuf,
Joshua Ekpe, Abang Cyril and John
Ayuwu.
Traditional Ruler of Aluu, Alhaji. Hassan
Welewa; Okoghiroh Endurance, Ozioma
Abajuo and Chigozie Evans Samuel are
facing a charge of negligence.
Ezeji, Deputy Superintendent of Police
(DSP) and second in-command in the
Homicide Department of the Rivers State
Criminal Investigation Department
(SCID) told the court some of his findings
which he had deposed in an affidavit on
the death of the four youths.
Ezeji said, "On October 5, 2013, my
department received a report of the
gruesome murder of four undergraduate
students of UNIPORT at Aluu.
"The report we received was that these
four boys were stripped naked, paraded
with jubilation and about to be set
ablaze at Omuokiri Aluu. As a result, the
police division Isiokpo dispatched a
combined team to rescue the victims,
but because of the distance between the
scene of crime and Isiokpo, they had
hung condemned tyres on their necks,
while some others were with dog,
hounding them.
"The crowd they met on the scene when
they arrived were shouting 'kill them, kill
them'. Before the police could rescue
them, they had already poured petrol on
them and lit fire."
Ezeji said photographs of the remains of
the deceased and the streets on which
they were paraded naked were taken in
course of investigation. He said these
documents added to web extracts of the
video clips of the killing formed part of
exhibits attached to the case file
submitted to the prosecution.
Attempt by the prosecution counsel to
tender the said photographs/video as
exhibits were objected to by 10 of the
12 defendants.
The court fixed the ruling on the
admissibility of the exhibits for a later
date, August 15th Sitting also provided
an opportunity to hear applications for
bail of each of the accused persons. All
12 in separate applications urged the
court to admitt them to bail, stressing
that bail is their constitutional right
irrespective of the gravity of the offence
alleged to have been committed.
5th Accused, 16-year-old Abiodun Yusuf,
urged the court to grant him bail,
considering his age. His counsel,
G.B.Sanusi, told the court that Yusuf as
minor was not supposed to be tried
together with other accused persons in
the open court.
Counsel to the second set of defendants,
including Alhaji Welewa, urged the court
to grant them bail, saying their offences
carry lighter punishment of two years if
convicted. They told the court, that they
have already spent close to one year in
detention over the matter for allegation
of negligent, to wit felony to prevent
murder, crime and misdemeanour.
The prosecution objected to the bail
applications and urged the court to
dismiss their applications for lack in
merit. Prosecutor Godwins recognised
the court's discretion to grant bail but
argued that due to the serious nature of
the offences, it would be unusual for any
court to consider granting bail without
convincing reasons.
The case was adjourned till October 17
for ruling on the bail application.