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Tag: evans

  • ‘Evans was forced to plead guilty,’ says lawyer, Ogungbeje

    The lawyer representing suspected kidnapper Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike (alias Evans), Olukoya Ogungbeje, Wednesday alleged that his client was forced to plead guilty.
    In a statement issued after Evans pleaded guilty at his arraignment, the lawyer said his client would change his plea to not guilty when the case comes up for trial.
    Ogungbeje said Evans was denied access to his lawyers and had no opportunity of being properly advised on what plea to make.
    He said the charge was served on Evans in open court on Wednesday.
    “It must be noted that our client had been in police custody since 10th of June 2017 till date and his lawyer and family members have been denied access to him.
    “His arraignment was brought to our attention through the social media platform. We rushed to court in a bid to confer with our client before the commencement of proceedings but the Police denied us access to him.
    “We sought for adjournment to enable us confer with our client in line with the provisions of Section 36(6) (2) of the Constitution but same was turned down by the court.
    “Moreso, the information/charge sheet was served on us in open court on the same day of arraignment,” he said.
    According to Ogungbeje, his client informed him of his intention to change his plea.
    “After the purported guilty plea of our client and the court rose, our client told us clearly that the police told him to plead guilty failing which the police will kill him.
    “This is definitely unconstitutional and we intend to challenge this unconstitutional procedure of hoodwinking, unduly influencing, brainwashing and coercing an accused into entering a guilty plea against his wish and freewill.
    “Our client pointedly told us that being informed now, he will change his ‘police motivated guilty plea’ to ‘not guilty’ at the next adjourned date.
    “It is settled law that plea of guilty must be made voluntarily and devoid of any influence, coercion and manipulation.
    “We have a responsibility to assist the cause of justice in accordance with the law,” Ogungbeje said.

  • BREAKING: Notorious kidnapper, Evans pleads guilty, case adjourned to Oct 19

    The notorious kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and kidnapping before a judge of the Ikeja High Court.

    Evans and five others were arraigned on a two-count charge of conspiracy and kidnapping.

    SEE: Looking fresh: See photos of notorious kidnapper, Evans in court

    The judge ordered that all the male defendants be remanded at Kirikiri Maximum Prison while the female defendant, who pleaded not guilty to all the charges, be kept at the Kirikiri Female Prison.

    He adjourned till October 19.

    Earlier on Tuesday, a Lagos Division of the Federal High Court adjourned till September 5 to hear arguments from Evan’s lawyer and police lawyers on why he should not deliver judgment on the fundamental rights application brought by Evans.

    Justice Abdulaziz Anka had initially fixed Tuesday to deliver judgment on the suit but a lawyer to the Inspector General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force, David Igbodo, appearing for the first time since the hearing began, said he had filed a counter affidavit before the court.

    “It will be an injustice for judgment to be delivered without hearing our own side,” Mr. Igbodo, Commissioner of Police (Legal Section), said.

    Later, when he spoke to journalists outside the courtroom, Mr. Igbodo said police investigation into the Evans’ case was “almost complete.”

    “The case is a very controversial one, it is a sensitive case,” he said.

    “The Inspector General of Police devoted time, efforts, intelligence, and strategies to ensure that he was arrested. He beat strategies for the past six years. When he was arrested, it took time for the police to complete investigations and very soon, Nigerians will be made to know what is the next line of action for Evans.”

    Mr. Igbodo dismissed claims of the police not having the authority to detain Evans saying they had obtained a remand order from a federal court to hold the suspect in their custody for three months.

    “The Inspector of General of Police is a lawyer, in the first instance. He is somebody that respects the rights of every citizen,” he said.

    “He has been organising conferences and seminars for the Nigeria Police, both investigators and prosecutors, to make sure nobody is kept in custody beyond 24 or 48 hours without an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

    “The Inspector General of Police cannot keep Evans without a court order, there is a valid court order that is still subsisting as I speak with you for three months. You know Evans was arrested on the 10th of June; since when he was arrested till now, it’s not up to three months.

  • Looking fresh: See photos of notorious kidnapper, Evans in court

    The notorious kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans, is currently being arraigned before an Ikeja Division of the Lagos State High Court.

    *** BREAKING: Notorious kidnapper, Evans pleads guilty, case adjourned to Oct 19

     

  • Police to arraign notorious kidnapper, Evans today

    The notorious kidnapper, Chukwudi Onwuamadike a.k.a. Evans will be arraigned today by the Police on 52 charges.

    According to Punch, the charges bordered on murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and unlawful possession of firearms.

    The suspect will be arraigned alongside his gang members at the Lagos State High Court.

    A Police official told Punch that the kidnapper will be arraigned for similar charges in an Edo High Court.
    The source said, “Investigation into crimes committed by Evans has been concluded before the expiration of the 90 days remand order granted by the Federal High Court.

    “Evan’s first case is the kidnap of Mr. Donatus Dunu in Ilupeju, Lagos whom he collected N150m ransom from. The case will be coming up in Ikeja High Court 18 before Justice Oshodi on Wednesday (today).

    “Evans and 15 of his gang members have so far been arrested and are facing 14 substantive cases (10 in Lagos and four in Edo State), carrying 52 charges of multiple murders, armed robberies, kidnappings, unlawful possession of firearms, unlawful possession of ammunition, among others.”

    He said the charges were prepared by the Force Legal Department and the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

    “Wednesday’s case is one of the 14 cases. Evans and five of his gang members who participated in Mr. Donatus Dunu’s kidnapping will be arraigned.

    “The remaining 13 cases relating to 13 more victims and other gang members of Evans not yet arraigned will come up on subsequent dates that the respective high courts and Federal High Court will schedule,” he added.

    Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Olarinde Famous-Cole, confirmed that Evans would be arraigned before a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja on Wednesday (today).

    Evans who had been on the police’s top list for his notorious Crimes was finally arrested on June 10, 2017.

  • Evans’ N300m damages suit: Police stall judgment with fresh application

    Evans’ N300m damages suit: Police stall judgment with fresh application

    A fresh application by the Nigeria Police on Tuesday stalled judgment on the N300 million fundamental rights suit filed by alleged kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, a.k.a Evans, at a Federal High Court, Lagos.

    The Police had told the court that they did not authorise any lawyer to represent the organisation in the case.

    When the case was called for judgment, the counsel to the Police, Mr David Igbodo, said he had brought a fresh application, claiming the paramilitary service was not given a “fair hearing” in the case.

    Igbodo, a Commissioner of Police in charge of Legal Section at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, is representing the Inspector General of Police and the Nigeria Police (first and second respondents).

    He said the lawyer, Mr Henry Obiazi, who had previously argued the case on behalf of the police, was not instructed to act for the IGP or the Police.

    “In the pending application which was filed on Aug. 21, the police are praying the court to set aside all the “purported” arguments made by Obiazi in the case,” Igbodo said.

    The police through their lawyer, also asked the court to set aside the ruling delivered by Justice Anka on Aug. 16 adjourning the case for judgment on Aug. 29.

    Igbodo said the judge adjourned the case without hearing from the first and second respondents.

    He is asking for an order granting leave to the I-G and the Police to file their counter-affidavits to the suit and for the court to consider their response duly filed and served.

    He also noted that the police were not served Evans’ suit, and were not given an opportunity to file a defence.

    “We believe, My Lord, understands the principle of fair hearing. We are ready to move the application.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Evans through his lawyer, Mr Olukoya Ogungbeje, is asking the court to either order his unconditional release from detention or to charge him to court in addition to a demand for N300 million damages for illegal detention.

    Ogungbeje, in his submission, however, urged the judge to go ahead and deliver the judgment.

    He said the application by the police was a bid “to arrest the verdict” and should, therefore, be refused.

    “We have not been served with that application. On Aug. 16, arguments were taken from all parties and Your Lordship graciously reserved today for judgment.

    “It is our strong view that this application is calculated to arrest the judgment.

    “The assertion that we refused service of the fresh application cannot be true when judgment has already been reserved,” he said.

    In his ruling, Justice Abdulazeez Anka noted that he could not go on with the judgment in the face of the fresh application.

    He adjourned the case until Sept. 5 for hearing.

     

     

  • BREAKING: Fundamental rights suit: Billionaire kidnapper, Evans wins first case in court

    BREAKING: Fundamental rights suit: Billionaire kidnapper, Evans wins first case in court

    …as trial continues

    Justice Abdulaziz Anka of a Lagos Federal High Court on Wednesday ordered that the fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, also known as Evans against the Nigeria Police Force will proceed.

    Anka gave the ruling while dismissing the objections of counsel to the Nigeria Police Force, Emmanuel Eze, during proceedings in Evans’ N300m suit.

    The judge agreed with Counsel to Evans, Olukoya Ogungbeje that service on the first and second respondents in the case had been properly effected.

    The first and second respondents in the suit are the Inspector General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force. The other respondents are the Lagos State Police Commissioner and the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS.

    Justice Anka also ruled that leave was not required for the matter to be heard during vacation as Order 4 Rule 5 of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules of 2009, enjoins the court to pursue speed and justice on issues of fundamental human rights.

    Evans, through his lawyer had filed a N300m lawsuit against the police, challenging his continued detention since June 10 without arraignment.

    The billionaire kidnapper is asking the court to award him N300m as exemplary damages for his alleged illegal detention and the alleged harm caused by his media trial.

  • Court rules on Evans’ fundamental rights suit Wednesday

    The Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed Wednesday, August 16, to rule on whether or not it will proceed to hear the N300m fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by a suspected kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, a.k.a. Evans.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Evans, through his lawyer, Mr. Olukoya Ogungbeje, filed the suit to challenge his alleged unlawful detention by the police.

    He is contending that his detention in the police custody since June 10, 2017, without being charged to court is a violation of his fundamental rights under sections 35 (1) (c) (3) (4) (5) (a) (b) and 36 of the Constitution.

    He wants the court to award N300m damages in his favour against the police.

    Joined as respondents in the suit are the Inspector-General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

    When the matter was called on Tuesday before Justice Abdulaziz Anka, Evans’ lawyer, Ogungbeje, told the court that all the respondents had been served and that the suit was ripe for hearing.

    But countering him, counsel for the Lagos CP and SARS, Mr. Emmanuel Eze, said the IG and the Nigeria Police Force had not been duly served and as such the case could not be heard.

    He said despite the hint of the court, Ogungbeje had yet to go to Abuja to serve the court processes on the IG and the NPF in their personal capacities.

    Eze argued that Order 5 Rule 8 of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Rules required that service of court papers on the IG and the NPF must be personal.

    Besides, he contended that Ogungbeje had not sought the leave of the court for the case to be heard during the court’s vacation.

    “Our submission is that they have not taken steps to clothe this court with jurisdiction to hear this case either during or after the court’s vacation,” Eze said.

    But Ogungbeje argued that by virtue of Order 5 Rule 2 of the Fundamental Rights Procedure Rules 2009, the IG and the NPF could be served through their agents and had thus been served through their legal offices at Alagbon, Lagos.

    “The 1st and 2nd defendants have been duly served by the bailiff of this court on the 29th of June, 2017. The proof of service, as done by the bailiff of this court, is in Your Lordship’s file. I urge Your Lordship to rely heavily on the proof of service in Your Lordship’s file,” Ogungbeje said.

    He argued further that Eze had no right to speak for the IG and the NPF since he did not announce appearance for them and did not file a counter-affidavit to contradict the proof of service.

    Urging the judge to go ahead and hear the application, Ogungbeje added that a defendant in a civil case could not be compelled to appear in court if he chose to stay away.

    “As we speak, the applicant is still in detention. The coast is clear and we urge Your Lordship to allow us to take this application,” Ogungbeje said.

    After taking arguments from both lawyers, Justice Anka adjourned till Wednesday for a ruling.

  • Court fines Evans’ lawyer N20,000 for professional misconduct

    Suspected kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, aka Evans’ lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje was on Thursday slammed N20,000 “punitive cost” for professional misconduct.

    Justice Abdulazeez Anka of the Federal High Court, Lagos, said the cost must be paid before July 20.

    Evans’ fundamental rights case was billed to be heard by the Judge, but his lawyer wrote the judge claiming to be ill.

    Ogungbeje apologised for his absence and asked for adjournment.

    But, Mr Emmanuel Eze, who represented Lagos State Commissioner of Police, opposed Ogungbeje’s application for adjournment.

    He said the applicant’s lawyer did not inform the police that he would be absent, adding that any other lawyer from Ogungbeje’s office could have come to represent Evans.

    According to him, it is an “affront” to the court for Ogungbeje not to send another lawyer to stand in for him.

    “In view of this, we are of the view that the applicant’s counsel is most unserious with this application. We, therefore, ask for a punitive cost of N100,000 against the applicant and his counsel,” he said.

    Awarding the N20,000 cost, Justice Anka said: “Counsel wrote a letter seeking for an adjournment without copying the prosecution. This, to me, is unprofessional. The court hereby warns counsel to desist from such type of practice.”

    The judge said the facts before him showed that the applicant was still in police custody.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Evans recently dragged the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris before the Federal High Court in Lagos over his alleged illegal detention.

    He prayed the court to order his immediate release if they cannot arraign him in court immediately.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Evans recently filed another fresh suit against the Inspector General of Police, and three others at a Federal High Court in Lagos.

    In the new suit, Evans is claiming N300 million as general and exemplary damages against the police for “illegal detention and unconstitutional media trial”.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Evans was represented in court by Lagos-based lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the billionaire kingpin was arrested in Lagos on Saturday, June 10 while preparing to travel out of the country. The arrest was carried out by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and led by ACP Abba Kyari.

     

  • Nollywood unveils movie, “EVANS: The City of Crime” on billionaire kidnap kingpin

    Believe it or not, this is a real thing. Nollywood is actually doing a movie based on Evans, the kidnapper who has been making headlines nationwide and it’s scheduled to come out next weekend.

    Nollywood has, over the years, made a habit of attempting to reenact real world events in movies — and it is arguable if they’ve been very successful at it. Remember the famous Anini, Oyenusi, and even Ebola movies?

    Now we are presented with another ‘blockbuster’ fresh out of Alaba International Market: “EVANS: The City of Crime.” This recent attempt is by ‘Priced Penny Productions’ which is popular for their embarrassingly hilarious remake of “Batman” and the introduction of “Spider Girl”

    On Tuesday, filmmaker Justward James, popularly known in the industry as Jama Gold, shared a promotional photo of the upcoming movie, which is expected to be an adaptation of the life of popular kidnapper Evans Chukwudumeme leading to his arrest, on Instagram.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BWaze_XjTt-/?taken-by=jama.gold

    “Don’t get it twisted … Guys no dey smile,” he captioned the photo. “THE EVANS coming out this weekend.”

    The photo soon spread to Twitter where it generated a lot of buzz, with people reacting the announcement — majority expressing sheer disbelief that this would make the silver screens.

    https://twitter.com/femifactor/status/884893968491741184

    https://twitter.com/JoshuaUbeku/status/885105159101132802

    James confirmed to TheNewsGuru.com that the movie, featuring popular actor Kelvin Ikeduba, will be released next weekend.

    So grab your copy…NOW!!!

  • Evans still in our custody, ignore stories of his disappearance – Police tell Nigerians

    Police authorities on Saturday dismissed insinuations that the suspected kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly called Evans, had vanished from police custody in Lagos.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that a national daily (The Sun) on its Saturday’s cover page alleged that Evans had been moved from his cell by about 30 heavily armed policemen, giving room to further speculations on social media that Evans might have died in custody.

    “The secrecy surrounding his whereabouts in the official quarters baffles those who have closely followed his story since his arrest.

    “Some senior police officers who spoke to Saturday Sun on condition of anonymity expressed fears that Evans might not make it to the court,’’ the newspaper reported.

    However, spokesman of the force, CSP Jimoh Moshood in a special release said the billionaire kidnapper is still very much in the police custody insisting that investigations into his heinous crimes against humanity are still ongoing. He, therefore, urged Nigerians to disregard the news as published by the paper.

    He noted further that Evans will be arraigned along with his accomplices as soon as investigations were completed.

    The statement reads: “The public should disregard and discountenance all media reports in the social and print media that he has vanished or released and all criminal charges against him dropped as UNTRUE and ABSOLUTE FALSEHOOD.

    Evans is in Police custody and would be arraigned in court along with other members of his gang on completion of investigation”.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Evans recently dragged the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris before the Federal High Court in Lagos over his alleged illegal detention.

    He prayed the court to order his immediate release if they cannot arraign him in court immediately.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Evans again on Thursday filed another fresh suit against the Inspector General of Police, and three others at a Federal High Court in Lagos.

    In the new suit, Evans is claiming N300 million as general and exemplary damages against the police for “illegal detention and unconstitutional media trial”.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Evans was represented in court by Lagos-based lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the billionaire kingpin was arrested in Lagos on Saturday, June 10 while preparing to travel out of the country. The arrest was carried out by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and led by ACP Abba Kyari.