SAN FRANCISCO, October 27, (THEWILL) –Â Alleged kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans, has been arraigned on fresh charges bordering on murder and illegal sales of firearms before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Lagos High Court in Igbosere.
The two fresh charges are different from one, involving kidnapping, on which Evans and his co-defendants were earlier arraigned on August 30, 2017 before Justice Hakeem Oshodi of the Ikeja division of the court.
THEWILL recalls that Evans had been arraigned, alongside five others, over alleged murder, kidnap of Sylvanius Ahanonu Hafiia and attempted kidnap of the Chairman of Young Shall Grow Motors, Vincent Obianodo, before Justice Oshodi.
Following the fresh charge, filed by the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Lagos State High court sitting in Igbosere, on Friday, fixed November 11, 2017, to rule on whether or not to quash the the charges against Evans.
However, Evans’ Defence Counsel, Olukoya Ogungbeje, argued that his client could be charged with court contempt on the adjourned date being that he already had a case against him at the State High Court Ikeja.
He contended that the charges were incompetent, saying he had filed two applications seeking to quash them.
He also argued that charging the accused on same counts in another court could amount to duplication of charges.
But the DPP countered saying the defence is in total misinterpretation/ misunderstanding of the word duplicity explaining that according to sec 153 of the ACJ 2015 a count should contain one single offence.
He declared that when an offence is committed on separate days, the charges can be brought in different courts.
