Four persons suspected to have killed an operative of the Department of State Services, DSS, in Rivers State have been arraigned in a Magistrate Court sitting in Port Harcourt.
The suspects, whose names were given as Osah Ebube, Elem Innocent, Nwebehia Prince and Ferdinand Akpe, were on Friday brought to court over the killing of the DSS operative, Mr. Garrick Oyaghiri.
It would recall that some gunmen had attacked DSS officials in Obagi community in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area on the eve of the national and state legislative rerun election in the state.
During a gun battle between the unknown gunmen and the security operatives, it was learnt that a DSS official was killed. The Punch reports that the DSS however had swung into action and arrested the suspects, who reportedly killed their colleague about two months ago.
The suspects were dragged to the Magistrate Court in a charge sheet, PMC/867C/16, on two counts bordering on conspiracy and murder.
The count two read, “That you, Osah Ebube Chineme (Koingdom) Elem Innocent Aleze, Nwabehia Onyeocha Prince and Ferdinand Obi Akpe, all adults, with others still at large, on or about the 18th day of March, 2016, at Obagi community, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA, within the jurisdiction of this court , did murder Garrick Jonathan Oyaghiri, a personnel of the State Security Services, by shooting and stabbing him to death and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 316 and punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code Law, Laws of Rivers State of Nigeria, 1999.”
When the matter came up in court, the Chief Magistrate, Sokari Andrew-Jaja, did not allow the charges against the accused persons to be read and no plea was taken.
Andrew-Jaja noted that the charges against the accused persons were capital offence and would be entertained by a high court.
The Chief Magistrate, who refused to grant the accused persons bail, relied on Section 108 (1) of Criminal Procedure Act, which provided that it was only the High Court that had the jurisdiction to grant an accused person facing capital charges bail.
“The section holds that an accused person who is facing capital offences shall be admitted to bail except by a High Court.”
Andrew-Jaja, while ordering that the original case file be remitted to the State’s Director of Public Prosecution for advice, adjourned the matter till 27th July.
He declined having the jurisdiction on the matter, but remanded the suspects in prison pending the report of Department of Pubic Prosecution.
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