- A warder has shot dead, a man who pretended to be one of the kidnappers of the 6 abducted Lagos children, in an Ebute-Meta Magistrates court
- The deceased was arraigned in court after reaching out to the parents of the abducted children and demanding a N2m ransom fee
- He was shot by the warder as he attempted to flee from the court premises while being led to a holding cell
A man who pretended to be one of the kidnappers of the six pupils of Lagos Model College, Igbonla, was shot dead by a warder at the Ebute Meta Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, December 13, Punch reports.
After his case was adjourned till January 2018, the deceased, identified as Chizoba Okoye, was trying to flee from the court when he was shot dead.
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NAIJ.com that the 24-year-old Okoye was first arraigned on one count of false representation and demanding ransom, at the Chief Magistrate Oluwayemisi Adelaja’s court, on August 3, 2017.
According to Chinalu Uwadione, the police prosecutor, Okoye had demanded a N2m ransom from the parents of the abducted school children after pretending to be one of the kidnappers.
Uwadione stated that before his case came up on Wednesday, Okoye had been arraigned in court one more time.
He disclosed that the offense committed was punishable under Section 6 (iii) of the Lagos state Anti-Kidnapping Law, 2017.
The suspect attempted to flee from the court premises as he was being led to a holding cell.
A source with knowledge of the matter disclosed: “Okoye was not involved in the actual kidnapping. He had heard about it like every other person and he decided to call the parents of the boys to demand N2m for their release.
“That was how he was arrested.
“This is the third time that he would be brought to court. The magistrate had adjourned his case till January 15, 2018. In fact, he was going to be freed on that day based on certain reasons.
“But he fled the court and the warder chased him to the police barracks beside the court. The man asked him to stop, but he refused and continued running. That was how he was shot dead.
“Operatives of the prison ambulance service confirmed him dead, after which he was taken away.”
The development was also confirmed by the spokesperson for the prisons service, Lagos state Command, DSP Rotimi Oladokun.
In his words: “It happened after the case was adjourned and the escort team was leading him to the holding cell on the court premises.
“Thinking he could escape the watchful eyes of the armed guards, Okoye suddenly took to his heels, defying verbal warnings and warning shots from the armed men.
“As he continued in his flight and attempted to scale the fence to freedom, he was immobilised by shots from the armed personnel and subsequently arrested.
“Unfortunately, he lost his life on the way to the hospital for medical attention.”
The corpse has now been deposited at a morgue.
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the six abducted students of Igbonla Model College in Epe had been released.
The students were in the custody of their abductors for two months.
They were abducted on Sunday, May 28 in their school premises by kidnappers who invaded the school.
Nigerians speak angrily about alleged kidnappers caught in Lagos - on NAIJ.com TV:
Source: Naija.ng
ROSY CREST
Thursday, 14 December 2017