A Yaba Chief Magistrate’s Court on
Wednesday granted bail to two suspects arrested in connection with the
alleged murder of Cynthia Osokogu,
But the driver who was accused of driving the prime suspect to Cosmilla Hotel, FESTAC, was remanded in prison custody.
The suspects granted bail – Nonso Ezike
(22), who is the younger brother to Olisaeloka, one of the alleged
killers, and Ezeaka Chinonso (27) – were arrested by policemen at Area E
for receiving and selling Cynthia’s BlackBerry phone.
The two counts read, “That you Ezike
Nonso Ifechukwu and Ezeaka Chinonso, sometime in the month of July 2012,
at 93 Tedi/Memo Road Abule-Osun, Lagos in the Lagos Magisterial
District did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit:
receiving robbed/stolen property thereby committed an offence and
punishable under Section 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
“That you (accused persons), on the same
date, time did knowingly receive one white BlackBerry phone valued at
N85,000 from one Ezike Olisaeloka also known as Chidera, property of
Cytnhia, knowing same to have been robbed/stolen and thereby committed
an offence punishable under Section 326 (1)(2) of the Criminal Law of
Lagos State, 2011.”
Nonso’s lawyer, Mr. J. C Ngobili, told
the court that the accused was a student of the Federal University of
Technology, Owerri, and prayed the court to grant him bail in liberal
terms.
The Magistrate, Mr. P.A. Adekomaya,
admitted that although the offences were bailable, he pointed out that
the bail condition ought not to be too liberal in view of the
circumstances surrounding Cynthia’s murder.
He granted Nonso and Ezeaka bail in the
sum of N500,000 each with two sureties in like sum, adding that the
sureties must not be teachers or local government employees. He added
that the sureties could be bank tellers.
He said, “The court observes that the
matter at hand is a bailable offence but in order to deter the
defendants from flight, I hereby subject them to bail of N500, 000 each
with two sureties in like sum.”
The third accused person, Gideon
Okechukwu, a driver, was however charged with eight counts of murder,
rape, robbery, conspiracy, administering a harmful substance to the
deceased among others.
The charge reads in part, “That you,
Gideon Okechukwu, and others charged to court, on the same dates, time
and place, in the aforesaid Magisterial district, did unlawfully kill
one Cynthia Osokogu (25) by administering her with obnoxious substance
known as Rohypnol Flunitrazepam tablets via a Ribena drink, binding her
with padlock and cellotaped her legs, neck and mouth, giving her fist
blows all over her body, giving her several human bites, tortured and
strangled her to death and thereby committed an offence, punishable
under Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.”
Okechukwu had told PUNCH Metro before he
was arraigned that he only drove the alleged killers from the area
where the hotel was situated, adding that he had no role in Cynthia’s
murder.
Okechukwu’s lawyer, Bello, prayed the
court to also grant the accused bail, adding that he had been held at
the State Criminal Investigation Department.
The magistrate, who quickly interjected,
explained that it wasn’t within the jurisdiction of the court to grant
bail for such offences.
He said, “Do you think I am drunk or
under a spell that I would grant bail for such offences? Before this
court is an application for remand. The accused person can only be
granted bail based on the advice from the Director of Public
Prosecutions or order from a superior court.”
Okechukwu was remanded in Ikoyi Prison. The matter was adjourned till October 3, 2012.
Punch
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