GUO Kidnap Case: Court Admits Displayed Weapons; Transfers Case To Admin Judge

An Onitsha High Court in Anambra State presided over by Justice Chudi Nwankwo yesterday admitted displayed weapons allegedly used by the accused kidnappers of Chairman of the GUO Motors limited, Chief Godwin Okeke. The kidnappers are facing trial before the court.

The weapons displayed before the court admitted in evidence included five AK 47 rifles; two General Purpose Machine Guns, GPMG; one rocket launcher, five rocket propellers; three rockets; 5,830 AK 47 ammunitions; 1,135 rounds of GPMG ammunitions; 124 empty AK 47 magazines; one K2 rifle; two K2 empty magazines and one K2 riffle loaded with magazines.

The PW3, Edet, a police officer who was part of the investigation team after the kidnap incident displayed the weapons which he said were recovered from the kidnappers' armoury in a bush at Nando community in Anambra East Local Government Area of the state.

After the display of the weapons, the prosecution counsel, Chris Ajugwe pleaded to tender the weapons to be admitted as evidence.

Counsel to the first, second and third defendants, O. U. Oduma, D. U. Nwafor and J. N. Okongwu raised objection to the effect that there was no scientific proof that the weapons were used by the defendants, but Ajugwe insisted that the weapons be admitted because the Complainant/first Prosecution Witness, PW1, Okeke mentioned some of the weapons used by his kidnappers in his evidence-in-chief.

The Court over ruled defence counsel, admitted the five AK 47 riffles as Exhibits K1, K2, K3, K4 and K5 and then marked other weapons as Exhibits L to Z.

Again, Ajugwe sought to tender the court subpoena which ordered Edet to bring those weapons to court, but for the second time, all the defence objected to it on the ground that the document could not have been tendered after the weapons have been displayed and admitted as exhibits.

The Judge however transferred the kidnap case preferred against three accused persons, Kelechi Okafor, Anthony Ifeanyi Okafor and Alexander Onyinanya to the Administrative Judge of Onitsha High court for reassignment to another court.

The transfer of the case came shortly after the third Prosecution Witness, PW3, Victor Edet displayed all the weapons allegedly used by the accused persons when they kidnapped the Chairman of GUO Motors Limited, Chief Godwin Okeke.

In his ruling while announcing his decision to hands-off the matter, Justice Nwankwo blamed all the defense counsel for raising unnecessary objections at intervals, thereby applying delay tactics and frustrating the case.

Justice Nwankwo who had earlier warned the defence counsel of the negative consequences of raising preliminary objections at a wrong time, instead of waiting for addressing stage, said he had ordered for an accelerated hearing of the matter, in consideration of the plight of the defendants who have been in detention for long now, yet their counsel are delaying the matter through unnecessary objections.

Also in his ruling, the court dismissed the objections on the ground that the defence counsel could not cite any legal authority where it is said that the subpoena must be tendered before the weapons could be displayed. He however added that during their addresses to the court, they could raise such an objection at that stage for him to consider.

As the PW3 was about to continue with his evidence, after the admission of the weapons, the defence counsel raised another objection that the weapons ought not to have been displayed in court in the first instance, not to talk of admitting them as evidence, but Justice Nwankwo got angry and concluded that the defence counsel were deliberately out to frustrate the matter and he ruled that he was now transferring the case back to the Administrative Judge for reassignment to another court.    

Okeke after the court session expressed concern that the defence counsel have succeeded in frustrating the case through their irrelevant objections, however commended the court and the police for their hard work so far in advancing the matter to this stage.

Okeke maintained that since the defendants and their gang members, as well as Ofe Akwu-led gang were arrested and their weapons recovered, kidnappings and bank robberies have reduced to a barest minimum, to the extent that during their reign of terror, bank customers usually enter their banking halls through the back door but now they enter through the front door.

He therefore called on banks, traders and well meaning citizens of Anambra state to support the present Governor Willie Obiano-led regime in his on-going efforts to stamp out the kidnappers, armed robbers and other criminal elements in the state, particularly now that Obiano has set up a combined team of Army, Police, Navy and Vigilant Group to comb all the suspected criminal hideouts in Onitsha and its environs.

After the court rose for the day and approved that the displayed weapons be returned back to the State Special Anti-Robbery Squad Headquarters, Awkuzu, a combined team of SARS and Vigilant operatives escorted the vehicle carrying them out of the court premises.

Picture

 Pix shows the recovered arms and ammunition

Pix show Chief Godwin Okeke being interviewed by newsmen after the court sitting.