Alleged kidnapping: Evans statements to police voluntary, Judge rules

Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of an Ikeja Special Offences Court on
Friday held that alleged kidnap kingpin, Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike
alias Evans, and Victor Aduba, a dismissed soldier, made voluntary
statements to the police regarding their alleged involvement in
kidnappings.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in a ruling on
Friday, the judge said that Evans and Aduba during a
trial-within-trial to determine the admissibility of their
statements to the police, never provided to the court any proof of
coercion or torture.

“The video of the first defendant (Evans), giving his statement,
was played in open court. The first defendant appeared relaxed and
was smiling in the video. There was no visible threat of violence
or coercion.

“The defendants’ counsel did not report to the authorities about
the alleged torture before proceedings began. The first defendant’s
stories appeared to be contrived for the purpose of this trial.

“I have carefully taken into consideration the arguments
contained in the written addresses, and there is insufficient
evidence of torture and coercion.

“I find that the defendants’ statements were made voluntarily. I
accept the statements of the two defendants as exhibits and they
are so marked Exhibits F and G,” she said.

DTuring the trial-within-trial, Evans and Aduba told the court
that they were tortured by the police before their statements were
obtained.

Evans claimed that he fabricated stories in his statement to the
police as a result of the torture and that he forcefully signed
over 25 statements after watching executions of individuals paraded
alongside him by the police.

In his evidence, Aduba claimed that Insp. Idowu Haruna of the
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response Team showed
him photographs of dead bodies and slapped him when he made a
request to call a lawyer.

Haruna and Sgt. Julius Okundeye, who testified in the
trial-within-trial on behalf of the police, said that the
defendants’ statements were not made under any form of duress.

Earlier, during Friday’s proceedings, Evans informed the court
that he had no legal representation.

The judge, however, told him that since he was without a lawyer
in the previous two court proceedings, the court had made an
arrangement for Mrs O.A Adeyemi, a lawyer from Office of the Public
Defender (OPD), to defend him.

State counsel, Mrs A. O. Olugasa, sought an adjournment of the
case, informing the court that the prosecution witness, Insp. Idowu
Haruna, was unavailable.

Adeyemi and Emmanuel Ochai, Evans’ and Aduba’s counsel,
respectively, did not object to the prosecution’s request for
adjournment.

Justice Taiwo adjourned the case until June 21 for continuation
of trial.

NAN reports that Evans and Aduba are facing a four-count charge
of kidnapping and unlawful possession of firearms.

Evans and the dismissed soldier were also accused of kidnapping
Mr Sylvanus Ahamonu, holding him hostage for at least nine weeks
and collecting a ransom of 420,000 dollars from his family.

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Prison Reforms: Our Focus is on Inmates not Crime-
Dambazau

The Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau,
has reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government towards a
holistic prisons reform, saying that “our focus is on
rehabilitating the criminal and not the crime he or she
committed.

The minister stated this on Friday at the Nigerian Prison
Headquarters in Abuja, where he commissioned several projects
including the Nigerian Prison multipurpose Conference Centre, which
was named Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau Conference Centre, central
stores and 116 operational vehicles bought through the 2018
Procurement process.

He said prisons reform was necessary to ensure that Nigerian
Prisons conform to the United Nations minimum standard.

According to him, prisons decongestion is one of the most
important and effective ways to ensure effective prisons reform and
regretted that no fewer than 70 per cent of inmates in Nigerian
prisons are awaiting trial inmates.

He noted that most prisons facilities across the country were
accommodating inmates beyond their capacities, stressing that some
of the facilities were built about 100 years ago

He said that the NPS would concentrate on the issue of
rehabilitation of prisoners, to ensure that they were better
reformed before leaving the penitentiary.

The Minister expressed happiness at the meaningful projects
executed by the Nigerian Prison Service under the leadership of
Ja’afaru Ahmed and enjoined other paramilitary agencies under the
Interior Ministry to emulate the exemplary posture of Prison
Service.

Speaking at the occasion, Chairman of the House of
Representatives Committee on Interior, Hon. Adams Jagaban applauded
the Prison service for doing so much with little budget.

According to him, the strides of the prison service motivated
the committee to push for the passage of the Nigerian Correctional
Service bill which is before Mr President for assent.

“I think the service is lucky to have Ja’afaru Ahmed”, he
said.

In his address, the Controller General of Prisons(CGP) Ja’afaru
Ahmed said in the last three years, the service has been able to
embark on the construction of a number of projects such as new
prisons, state headquarters complexes , student hostels, lecture
halls, stores, new cells, barracks, perimeter fences, watch towers,
and several renovations.

According to the CGP, these are in addition to massive
procurement and distribution of inmates’ uniforms, beds/beddings,
assorted drugs and other sundry items.

“Another area of giant strides is in the purchase of vehicles
where the Service was able to procure 217 vehicles in 2016 and 49
in 2017”, he said.

Ja’afaru Ahmed noted that NPS also procured 116 vehicles in 2018
which were being commissioned today and they include big and mini
Green-Maria, ambulances, sewage trucks, water tankers and utility
vans, adding that the vehicles will be used to convey inmates to
courts and ensure speedy dispensation of justice while providing
emergency health services and other operational activities.

By PRNigeria