The Kogi Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Ali Ajuh, on Monday appeared before a Lokoja Chief Magistrates’ Court for attempted murder.
Ajuh was arraigned with Liaison Officer 1 of Omala Local Government Council, Aminu Atabor, and a civil servant, Omale Simeon, for attempted culpable homicide and armed robbery.
The accused were arraigned before the Lokoja Chief Magistrates’ Court 1 on an 11-count charge.
The charges leveled against the trio included criminal conspiracy, attempted culpable homicide, armed robbery, causing grievous hurt, public disturbance, thuggery, kidnapping and illegal possession of firearms.
The Prosecuting Police Officer, Mr Otowu Gabriel, had told the court that the accused, allegedly committed the offences on Jan. 26, this year, during a prayer session, organised at Abejukolo in the Omala Local Government Area, in honour of former governor Ibrahim Idris.
The event was designed to mark his Idris’ successful tenure in office and exit.
The accused were said to have criminally conspired with their thuggery groups armed with dangerous weapons, including guns, clubs and cutlasses, to unleash mayhem on innocent citizens.
They were also accused of blocking roads to attack and damage property of perceived enemies.
The prosecution said that factional thugs belonging to the accused unleashed mayhem on the people, damaging cars and others valuables.
The thugs were also alleged to have taken two i-pad computers, N200,000 cash, damaged five vehicles and injured several people while threatening many others with death.
The prosecutor also told the court that the accused declined to help the police to fish out the thugs when asked to do so, adding that the thugs were now at large.
Otowu, who had earlier opposed admitting the accused to bail, suddenly withdrew his submission.
He said: “I don’t want to be seen approbating and reprobating. I wish to withdraw my objection for the bail of the accused. I am aware that bail is at the discretion of the court”.
Counsel to the accused, Chief Uche Enwere, had urged the court to invoke Section 341(1) of the Penal Code to grant his clients bail, assuring that they would not jump bail.
The Chief Magistrate, Mr Levi Animoku, in his ruling said the allegation contained in the Fisrt Information Report (FIR) “are offences which appear frightening upon hearing the reading of the content of the FIR. They appear serious in nature.
“I have critically perused and considered the FIR, the gamut of the FIR shows that the main allegations as I can garner from it relate to screening an offender.
“None of the accused persons was said to have been seen physically involved in the alleged crimes.”
Animoku, therefore, admitted the accused to bail in the sum of N200,000 each with a reliable surety in like sum, adding that sureties must be civil servants not below GL 14 in the service of Kogi State.
He adjourned the case to Feb. 14, for mention.
Meanwhile, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Katsina, has said that more suspects and weapons, including double-barrel, pump action gun, one dane gun and several live ammunitions, have been recovered by his men in connection with the violence.
Briefing newsmen in Lokoja, Katsina said that normalcy had been restored to Abejukolo, the scene of the bloody violence and its environs, adding that all those found to be involved directly or indirectly would be prosecuted on completion of investigation.
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