Alhaji Hassan Welewa, the paramount ruler of
Aluu community in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, yesterday got a
moment of respite as Justice Letam Nyordee of a Rivers State High Court granted
him N2million bail, alongside others to include; Okoghiroh Endurance, Ozioma
Abajuo and Chigozie Evans Samuel. The aforementioned are the ninth of 12th accused
persons in the trial of the ongoing trial of the suspected killers of the four
students of University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) who were lynched in Aluu,
Ikwerre Local Government Area.
Ugonna Obuzor, 18 (Geology),
Lloyd Toku Mike, 19 (Civil Engineering), Chiadika Biringa, 20 (Theatre Art),
and Tekena Elkannah, 20 (Mechanical Engineering) were brutally murdered and
their bodies burnt by some angry mob in Umokiri community, Port Harcourt on
October 5, 2012.
The ninth of the 12th
accused persons granted bail were charged for felony as they had the capacity
to stop the crime, but failed to do so.
Justice Nyordee granted them bail
in the sum of N2 million and two sureties each, who are expected to present
evidence of tax payment for the last two years.
The sureties must be owners of
landed property within the jurisdiction of the court and must tender the
original copy of the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to the court. Four
copies of their most recent passport photographs and a sworn affidavit of means
must equally be tendered to the court.
In his bail pronouncement, the
Judge reflected over the case, asserting that while accused persons one to
eight were charged with murder in the case, accused persons nine to 12 were
charged with felony to prevent murder, justifying that the offence of the ninth
to 12th accused persons was bailable.
Justice Nyordee said; “The
offence for which the ninth – 12th suspects were charged provides two years
imprisonment if convicted.
“Bail is a legal right of anybody
standing criminal charge trial, if it is applied for.
“It is not to grant him/her total
liberty, but a temporal liberty to enable him prepare for his trial.
“That does not, however, mean
that every application for bail of a person under-going criminal trial must be
granted as it were.
“The offence which the ninth,
10th, 11th and 12th accused persons are charged is not capital in nature and
ordinarily bailable, while that of the 1st to 8th accused persons are capital
offence and ordinarily, not bailable, unless the judge takes into consideration
certain factors which include health conditions, among others, to exercise
his/her discretion to grant bail.
“The case of murder, which the
first eight accused persons are charged with, is capital and serious in nature
and, as the result, no bail will be granted to them. However, bail is granted
to the ninth-12th
Retired Sergeant Lucky Orji and
seven others, including Ikechukwu Louis Amadi (aka Kapoon), David Chinasa
Ogbada, Abiodun Yusuf (16), Joshua Ekpe and Abang Cyril, were charged with murder,
hence the judge confirmed that their offence was not bailable.
Meanwhile, the youtube video of
the incident was played on a large projector in the court yesterday by the
prosecuting counsels, raising the emotions of different individuals in court,
including the parents of the four late students.
However, Counsel to the second
accused (Lucky Orji), Emmanuel John had argued that the video was not necessary
as an exhibit since it was a youtube downloaded version, and that the witness
was not the author of the video.
WRITER: ADOYI ALI @dgr8tali
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