We have enough evidence to prosecute Evans for Murder, Lagos govt tells court

The Lagos State Government on friday said it has enough evidence to successfully prosecute suspected billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike (aka Evans) on charges of murder and illegal possession of firearms. Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Titilayo Shitta-Bay, made this disclosure while arguing the state’s counter-affidavit to Evans applications seeking to quash two separate charges containing a total of 11 counts filed against him and four others. 

She told Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of a Lagos High Court in Igbosere that the two applications filed by Evans through his lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, were vexatious and calculated to delay and frustrate his trial.

The DPP faulted Evans’ lawyer over claims that the charges were defective, repetitive and duplicatous. She noted that none of the counts contained more than one offence and as such there has been no abuse of court’s process. “The appropriate law relevant to the drafting of charges is the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) 2015 of Lagos State.

The law prescribes that a count should not contain more than one offence. It is only when there is something to the contrary that we can be talking of duplicity,” she said. Shitta-Bay further noted that though the statement of offence of some of the counts might be the same, their particulars are different. 

She added that contrary to Ogungbeje’s insinuations, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN) has given fiat to the Lagos State Attorney-General, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, to prosecute the federal offences contained in the two charges.

“We have exhibited the fiat of the AGF dated January 30, 2017, in the proof of evidence. It is a general fiat given to the Lagos State AG to prosecute federal offences,” the DPP said. She also faulted claims by Evans’ lawyer that the state can not sustain the murder charge against his client because there was no evidence of death in the proof of evidence.

According to her, murder charge can be proved either by direct or circumstancial evidence. Ogungbeje had earlier argued the applications which were brought pursuant to Section 55 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, 2015 and Sections 36 and 6 (6) (b) of the constitution.

He told the court that all the 11 counts in the two charges were bad for duplicity, grossly defective, a gross abuse of court’s process and does not disclose a prima facie case against his client. In particular, Ogungbeje claimed that counts one, two and three in the first charge do not disclose any prima facie case as there is no evidence of death in the proof of evidence in the information filed by the prosecution.