Olukoya Ogungbeje, lawyer to kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans, has accused the police of forcing his client to plead guilty to kidnapping and felony.
Evans and two other co-accused persons pleaded guilty to the two-count charge of conspiracy to commit felony and kidnapping pressed against them contrary to section 271(3) of the Criminal Law of the Lagos State, 2015.
Ogungbeje said the police forced his client to plead guilty to the offences, claiming that he was never allowed to have consultations with him until yesterday when he was brought to court.
The kidnap lord who was brought before Justice Hakeem Oshodi by the Lagos State Government alongside his accomplices on a two-count charge of conspiracy pleaded guilty.
In a press statement he signed, Ogungbeje, said, “After the purported guilty plea of our client and the court rose. We stressed to have brief discussion time with our client and ‘he told us clearly that the police told him to plea guilty failure to which the police will kill him.
“This is definitely unconstitutional and we intend to challenge this unconstitutional procedure for hoodwink, undue influence, brainwashing and coercing on an accused into entering a guilty plea against his wish and freewill.
“He pointedly told us that being informed now, he will change his ‘police motivated guilty plea’ to ‘not guilty’ at the next adjourned date.
“In the meantime, after our brief conferring with our client in open court, he made it known to us that he will change his police motivated guilty plea to not guilty at the next adjourned date. We have a responsibility to assist the cause of justice in accordance with the law.”
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