Apo 6: Set us free, police officers accused of killing begs

Apo 6: Set us free, police officers accused of killing begs

- Six police officers accused of killing some Igbo traders in Apo district of Abuja has asked the Federal High Court to acquit them of all allegations leveled on them

- The police officers officer are being prosecuted for killing six traders in 2005

- The defendants in the matter were arraigned before Justice Ishaq Bello on a nine count charge of conspiracy and culpable killing

Apo 6: Set us free, police officers accused of killing begs

Six police officers accused of killing some Igbo traders in Apo district of Abuja has asked the Federal High Court to acquit them of all allegations leveled on them.

The police officers officer are being prosecuted for killing six traders in 2005.

The defendants in the matter - Danjuma Ibrahim, Othman Abdulsalam (at large), Nicholas Zakari, Emmanuel Baba, Ezekiel Acheneje and Sadiq Salami - were arraigned before Justice Ishaq Bello on a nine count charge of conspiracy and culpable killing.

The allegation for which they were accused of committing is punishable under Sections 97 and 221 (a) of the Penal Code with death sentence.

However, in a final address dated November 1, 2017, the defence team led by Ricky Tarfa and Anthony Agbonlahor prayed the court to set them free.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: 11 years after the killing of 6 Igbo traders, court disappoints family members

The defence said it is on record that none of the prosecution witnesses brought before the court claimed that the first defendant - Ibrahim - conspired with other defendants to commit felony thereby killing the Igbo traders.

The defence also said that the second to sixth defendants were not at Gimbiya Street in Garki area of Abuja at the time the deceased traders were shot.

Tarfa submitted that the fourth defendant (Emmanuel Baba) during his cross-examination, disclosed that he never met nor took instructions from Danjuma Ibrahim who was the deputy commissioner of police in charge of operations in the Federal Capital Territory at that time.

"The contradictions in the prosecution witnesses evidence, the failure to call vital witness, which is a forensic expert on finger prints, to analyse whether the fingerprints of the first defendant were on the AK 47 rifle of the 1st prosecution witness, have created a doubt in the evidence of the prosecution.

"It is trite law that where there is doubt in the case of the prosecution, the doubt should be resolved in favour of the defendant.

"We submit that if there are no fingerprints of the 1st defendant on the PW1's AK 47 rifle and no evidence proffered by the prosecution to sustain the charge against the 1st defendant, the court must acquit.

"We there urge your Lordship to discharge and acquit the 1st defendant," the final address stated.

READ ALSO: Nigeria is trampling on the blood of its people – MASSOB cries out

Also, the fourth defendant (Emmanuel Baba) through his counsel Anthony Agbonlahor submitted that there was no where in the evidence of the prosecution witness one to thirteen.

He said the witnesses never agreed with the co-defendants to kill Anthony Nwokike and Tina Arebun.

Agbonlahor urged the court to hold that the prosecution had not proven counts 1 and 2 of the charge relating to conspiracy to commit an illegal act.

"The prosecution must prove the following ingredients" among others, "that such death has been caused by the accused.

Where there is no evidence to prove that the accused had anything to do with the death of the deceased, no conviction can stand, and where the medical evidence does not show the deceased met with a violent death, no charge...punishable with death can be brought," the counsel said.

But in his written address, the lead prosecution counsel Chris Uche urged the court to rule that the complaint had proved its case against all the defendants beyond reasonable doubt as required by law.

READ ALSO: Profile Of Extrajudicial killings By Some Nigerian Police Officers

Uche said: "We most humbly urge your Lordship with all reverence and sense of responsibility to return a verdict of guilty on all the defendants accordingly."

Judgment on the matter has now been scheduled for Thursday, March 9 by the court.

Ifeanyi Ozo, Chinedu Meniru, Isaac Ekene, Paulinus Ogbonna, Anthony Nwokike and Tina Arebun, aged between 21 to 25 years were allegedly killed by some group of police officers in Apo area of Abuja in 2005.

The six Igbo traders popularly now referred to the 'Apo 6' were said to have been killed when they were returning from a night party.

Source: Legit.ng

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