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<h1>The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Nosa Uhunmwangho, the counsel for the IRT confronted Ndubisi at the venue of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry for Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters.</h1>

She was before the panel alongside her husband Mr Okwuchukwu Obiechina to be cross-examined by the police.

During the cross-examination, the counsel of the police debunked the Obiechinas' claims given before the panel on Oct. 31, that Ndubisi had miscarried a two-month old pregnancy in custody.

Their claims that they were unlawfully arrested for 22-days by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) were also debunked by the police.

Confronting Ndubisi, Uhunmwangho said: “Were you not told why you were arrested, are you a relative to the popular Evans?”

Initially feigning ignorance, Ndubisi said: “Can you describe him, who is he?”

The police counsel read out Evans birth name in response and Ndubisi admitted that the alleged kidnap kingpin was her blood relation.

“He is my brother; I never knew he is popularly known as Evans. I knew he was arrested for kidnapping,” she said.

Addressing the panel, Uhunmwangho said: “Evans was arrested because of the police invitation of his sister, Mrs Obiechina, she led them to arrest Evans.

"She was kept in custody for five days and that led us to arrest your brother.”

The lawyer for the police gave a background to the 2017 arrest of the couple.

“One Francis Umeh was kidnapped in 2017 and a ransom of 1 million dollars was collected by the kidnappers and he reported his ordeal to the police.

“The said Francis Umeh’s family was contacted by the kidnapper with the following numbers -08091000097, 08112452895 and 08188489518.

“These numbers were used to collect the ransom from Mr Umeh. The numbers were forwarded to the Technical Intelligence Unit for expansion and the numbers that were frequently contacted by those numbers were revealed.

“The phone numbers of these two witnesses were there that is why they were arrested on June 5, 2017 and upon the arrest of her brother she was granted bail,” Uhumuangho said.

The lawyer for the police also disputed the claims of the Obiechinas that they were detained for 22 days by SARS. He claimed that the couple was arrested on June 5, 2017 and not on June 2, 2017 as claimed.

He said they were detained by the police for five-days and that Ndubisi never told the policemen that she was pregnant and that she never revealed her health status in her statement.

Uhumuangho presented to the panel Ndubisi’s statement which was allegedly written on June 5, 2017 which was the day the police alleged she was arrested.

He also presented a bail document dated June 11, 2017, the date the police alleged she was freed from custody.

Ndubisi denied the allegations and insisted that she was detained for 22 days and that the SARS officers were aware of her pregnancy.

“I was detained for 22 days, I was arrested on June 2 around noon and when my husband came he was also arrested. They locked us in the cell and they did not check on us until after three-days.

“It was after three days that Supol Philip said that I should write my statement but the date on the bail document is not the date we were arrested.

“They were very much aware that I was pregnant, I wrote the statement according to the questions that they asked me.

“After my brother was arrested on June 10, 2017, we were not released until June 23. My husband was released first and I was released two weeks later.

“The date on the bail book was not the date we were released. After my husband was freed he had to come for me like three-times because the money he brought was not what they were demanding as bail,” she said.

Uhumuangho noted that Ndubisi had told the panel on Oct. 31 that the Nigerian police owed her and her husband, N2 million in damages awarded to them by the Federal High Court, Lagos.

“You had said that you went to court where N2million was awarded in your favour. Were you told by your lawyer that you cannot get N2million from the police on a platter of gold?

“Do you know you have to apply to court for enforcement and file garnishee proceedings?” he queried.

Responding, Ndubisi said she was unaware she had to proceed with garnishee proceedings to enforce the judgment.

Confronting Okwuchukwu about his claims about being unlawfully detained a second time by SARS, Uhumuangho said his second arrest was because he had been instructed by Evans to tamper with evidence.

“In your statement you said you sent to Kirikiri prisons to visit Evans and he told you to go to his park and get to his trucks and remove the fuse.

“Those trucks were under investigation. There’s also a picture here of you holding the fuses,” he said.

In response, Okwuchukwu denied the allegations, noting that he was aware the trucks were under investigation.

The police counsel also told the panel that contrary to the couple’s claims that were locked up in cells during their arrest; they were kept behind the counter because they were not the subject under investigation.

During proceedings, Uhumuangho presented Evans’ police statement, the couple’s police statements and a bail document which was admitted by the panel as exhibits.

After the police closed their case, the chairman of the nine-man panel, retired Justice Doris Okuwobi, ordered both parties to file a sum up of their cases and adjourned proceedings to Dec. 8.

Mrs Ndubisi Obiechina and Mr Okwuchukwu Obiechina. [NAN]

There was a mild drama on Tuesday when a lawyer representing the Inspector-General of Police, Intelligence Response Team (IRT), confronted an alleged SARS victim, Mrs Ndubisi Obiechina about being the sister of the alleged kidnap kingpin, Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike alias 'Evans'.

Are you a relative of Evans? – Police counsel confronts alleged SARS victim at judicial panel

<h1>The inability of alleged kidnap kingpin Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, alias Evans, to pay for his legal representation has stalled two trials which are before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of an Ikeja Special Offences Court.</h1>

Mr Chinoye Obiagwu (SAN), the counsel to Evans and Chiemeka Arinze his co-defendant in one of the kidnap cases, had written to the court to request for adjournment in both cases.

Portions of the letter dated March 4 and signed by Mr Noel Brown on behalf of Obiagwu was read in court by Mr Abiodun Alagbe, the state prosecutor.

Excerpts of the letter read: “Now that he (Obiagwu) is on hand to lead the defence, he finds that the families of the defendants are yet to provide some necessary yet critical obligations, which to prevent any embarrassment, and for the safety and well being of the defendants, who are still being held in custody, he (Obiagwu) would not want disclosed to the open court.”

After he had read portions of the letter, Alagbe noted that Evans’ defence team were also absent in court during the on Feb. 6.

Reacting to the letter, Justice Taiwo registered her displeasure at the request for an adjournment.

“It is ridiculous that we should wait for the first defendant (Evans) and his counsel to negotiate for a case that is already in court,” she said.

The Judge, however, acceded to the request and granted different adjournment dates for the two suits.

NAN reports that in the first criminal suit, Evans is facing trial alongside Victor Aduba, a dismissed member of the Nigerian Army.

The defendants are charged with four counts of kidnapping and unlawful possession of firearms.

Evans and the dismissed soldier are accused of kidnapping Mr Sylvanus Ahamonu, holding him hostage for at least nine weeks and collecting a ransom of 420,000 dollars from his family.

When the first suit was announced, Mr Emmanuel Ochai, Aduba’s defence counsel had told the court that he had also been served with a copy of Obiagwu’s letter.

“I will not be objecting to the request for an adjournment, I was also informed that the first defendant have filed their written addresses,” Ochai said.

Adjourning the case, Justice Taiwo said “The first and second defendants have filed submissions on the trial-within-trial, the prosecution has responded but are yet to serve the first defendant.

“The first defendant’s counsel had been absent for two dates in a row.

“This case is adjourned to March 20 for adoption of final written addresses.”

In the second criminal suit, Evans is facing trial alongside Joseph Emeka, Chiemeka Arinze and Udeme Upong over the attempted kidnap of Chief Vincent Obianodo, the Chairman of the Young Shall Grow Motors.

They face a seven-count charge of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, attempt to kidnap and sale and transfer of firearms.

When the suit was announced, Justice Taiwo adjourned the case until March 29, for further hearing.

Notorious billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans

Mr Chinoye Obiagwu (SAN), the counsel to Evans and Chiemeka Arinze his co-defendant in one of the kidnap cases, had written to the court to request for adjournment in both cases.

Alleged kidnapping: Evans’ inability to pay legal fees stalls trials

<h1>The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) partnered with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) of America to secure the conviction of Anthony Osaro, an online fraudster.</h1>

Mrs Vera Agboje, a prosecutor for the anti-graft agency said this on Monday at an Ikeja Special Offences Court during the sentencing of the 22-year-old Osaro following a plea bargain agreement he entered into with the EFCC.

Agboje addressing the court said that the EFCC had received a petition in June 2017 from the Ogun chapter of the Neighbourhood Observers.

She said that the petition was about the nefarious activities of some persons who habitually defrauded unsuspecting members of the public.

Osaro was arrested and an Asus Laptop and a Toyota Camry car were found in his possession.

He was taken to the Internet Fraud Unit of the EFCC where he was processed.

We conducted our investigations and we contacted the FBI. They revealed that the documents which were printed out through the defendants Asus Laptop were fraudulent.

By a letter dated Nov. 6, 2018, the defendant through his legal representative applied to enter into a plea bargain agreement.

My Lord, on the plea bargain agreement, we say the defendant is remorseful.

We urge the court to sentence him to one-year imprisonment starting from Oct. 26, 2018 which was the day he was first arraigned, Agboje said.

The EFCC prosecutor tendered as evidence, the letter written by the anti-graft agency to the legal attach of the FBI and the FBIs letter of response.

The EFCC also tendered as evidence the petition submitted by the Neighbourhood Observers, the documents printed from Osaros laptop and his statement to the EFCC.

Earlier during proceedings, Osaro pleaded guilty to a four-count charge of being in possession of documents containing false presence contrary to Section 318 of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2011.

According to the EFCC, Osaro committed the offences on June 29 in Lagos.

He allegedly had false documents titled Customs Controlling Dept. Intl Affaires, Delivery Certificate, Federal Government Grant Money Support, and Federal Government Grant Money Support Prize Award Dept.

The illegal documents were allegedly printed from Osaros Asus Laptop with number F4NOCU519823177.

Mrs Amaka Eze-Ugboaka, Osaros defence counsel, in her allocutus (plea for mercy before sentencing) asked the court to temper justice with mercy on him.

She said: The defendant, being a young man, is highly impressionable.

He will not fare so well spending a long time in prison knowing that our prisons have lost that glory of being a place of reformation.

We urge the court to be gracious in granting the proposed agreement between the defendant and the prosecution.

The defendant is a trained barber and hairdresser. His older brother has promised that he will purchase a container for him where he can start up his hairdressing and barbing business.

Furthermore, the defendant is a first-time offender and he has promised that he will shun a life of crime.

Justice Olusola Williams while sentencing Osaro, said that he was satisfied that the defendant was not coerced into entering into the plea bargain agreement with the EFCC.

The ingredient of the offence of being in possession of documents containing false presence has been proved.

I find the defendant guilty as charged, she said.

Williams sentencing Osaro to a year in prison, rejected the term in the plea bargain agreement that Osaros jail term should begin on Oct. 26, 2018, the day he was first arraigned.

The defendant is sentenced to one year imprisonment on each of the counts, the terms shall run concurrently and the sentence shall begin today, Jan. 28, 2019, she said.

Mrs Vera Agboje, a prosecutor for the anti-graft agency said this on Monday at an Ikeja Special Offences Court during the sentencing of the 22-year-old Osaro following a plea bargain agreement he entered into with the EFCC.

EFCC partnered with FBI to secure conviction of online fraudster

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eniola.ayoola

Articles written by the author

Are you a relative of Evans? – Police counsel confronts alleged SARS victim at judicial panel

Alleged kidnapping: Evans’ inability to pay legal fees stalls trials

EFCC partnered with FBI to secure conviction of online fraudster