Officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), could not present Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike, suspected kidnap kingpin, better known as Evans, in court on Wednesday, due to fear of attack by #EndSARS protests in Lagos.
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There have been renewed protests across the country over brutality, harassment and extrajudicial killings by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
Mohammed Adamu, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) subsequently disbanded the unit of the police, but the protests have continued, insisting that more concrete steps must be taken on reforming the police.
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With major roads blocked by protesters in Lagos, prison authorities could not present Evans and his co-defendants before the state’s Special Offences Court in Ikeja, where his case was scheduled to be heard.
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Evans is standing trial alongside Uche Amadi, Ogechi Uchechukwu, Chilaka Ifeanyi, Okwuchukwu Nwachukwu and Victor Aduba, over the alleged kidnap of Donatus Dunu, chief executive officer of Maydon Pharmaceutical Ltd.
The six defendants were arraigned on August 30, 2017, on two counts of conspiracy and kidnapping.
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According to the prosecution, they allegedly kidnapped Dunu in Lagos on February 14, 2017, and collected N100 million as ransom from his family.
Four witnesses, including Dunu, had testified during the trial on behalf of the state.
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“They are afraid of hijack by protesters,” The PUNCH quotes the court registrar as saying.
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