A suspect, Umar Abubakar, who, in September 2016,
allegedly led four others to kidnap Margaret, the wife of the Governor, Central
Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has died in police custody.
Abubakar, also known as Kerewa, was said to have
died due to the injuries he sustained during a gun duel with policemen in his
bid to evade arrest last year.
The deceased as well as Mohammed Yusuf, Edwin
George, Musa Maidabara, and Ernest Uduefe, was to be arraigned before Justice
Babatunde Quadri of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday.
But the arraignment could not proceed due to
Abubakar’s death, which the lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Aminu Alilu,
announced to the judge during the proceedings.
Alilu of the Office of the Attorney General of
the Federation, said, “This charge was filed on October 7, 2017, but on October
24, we were informed of the demise of the first accused who died as a result of
injuries he sustained while in the course of exchanging gunfire with the
police.”
Justice Quadri directed Alilu, an Assistant Chief
State Counsel in the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, to amend
the charges to reflect the new set of defendants.
He then adjourned until December 14 for the
arraignment of the surviving defendants.
In the five counts filed against the defendants,
the prosecution alleged that the late Abubakar and the four other defendants
took hostage of Margaret along with others in her entourage – Odion Anthony,
Ngozi Omoile, Uju Anthony and Gladys Omoile – at Ugoneki village, along
the Benin/Asaba Expressway on September 28, 2016.
The AGF filed five counts under the Terrorism
(Prevention) (Amendment) Act 2013 against the alleged kidnappers.
The defendants were said to have demanded N100m
ransom from the victims’ family members, but upon negotiation, reduced the
ransom to N80m, which they allegedly took before releasing the victims.
All the five defendants were named in counts one
to three which have to do with conspiracy and hostage taking.
But the trio of George, Maidabara, and Uduefe,
were accused in count four of aiding and abetting the act of hostage taking.
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