Evans to Know Fate on Feb 25, 2022

Stories by Steve Aya

Justice Hakeem Oshodi of an Ikeja High Court on Friday, fixed February 25, 2022, for judgement in the trial of alleged kidnap kingpin, Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike alias Evans and five Defendants accused of conspiracy and kidnapping.

The trial Judge fixed the judgement date, after listening to the final oral submissions of the final written addresses of both the Prosecution and Defence Counsel.
Evans and his co-Defendants – Uche Amadi, Okwuchukwu Nwachukwu, Ogechi Uchechukwu, Chilaka Ifeanyi and Victor Aduba, are accused of kidnaping of Mr Donatus Dunu, the Managing Director of Maydon Pharmaceuticals Ltd on February 14, 2017.

In a Final Written Address dated November 1, 2021, Evan’s defence Counsel, Mr Victor Opara, SAN, said there was no direct evidence linking Evans to the alleged crimes. He told the court that Dunu the alleged kidnap victim who was blindfolded throughout his 88-day ordeal, did not state to the court in his testimony that he could physically identify Evans.

“There is also the fatality of the Prosecution’s case, that there was no identification parade to identify the 1st Defendant (Evans).
“There was no evidence before your Lordship, to show that PW2 (Dunu) had the clear opportunity of identifying the 1st Defendant”, he said.
Mr Opara, SAN, while giving his oral submission, also asked the court to discharge and acquit Evans of the two-count charge.

The lead State Prosecutor, Mr. Adebayo Haroun, in his Final Written Address dated November 30, 2021, asked the court to convict the Defendants as charged. He further added that: “When a man has confessed to the crime, you do not need an identification parade.
“There is direct evidence of PW2 (Dunu), testifying to how he was kidnapped, how he escaped, and the roles the Defendants each played.

“We have circumstantial evidence linking the 1st Defendant (Evans) to the crime, and we also have confessional statements and video recordings of him.
“We urge your Lordship to convict the Defendants as charged”, Haroun said.

Evans is facing multiple trials alongside different and diverse co-Defendants, before Justices Hakeem Oshodi of the Ikeja Division of the High Court, Oluwatoyin Taiwo, of the Ikeja Special Offences Court, and Adedayo Akintoye of the Lagos Division of the High Court.
Contrary to false viral online reports, this is the first judgement to be fixed in all the five kidnapping trials.