Amid the raging #EndSARS protests, the Nigerian Correctional Service on Wednesday for fear of possible attack did not take alleged kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, alias Evans, and his co-defendants, before the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja, where their trial was scheduled to continue before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo.
Evans and his alleged accomplices are facing two separate charges of kidnapping and murder before Justice Taiwo.
The two charges were listed as number 10 and 12 in the court’s cause list for Wednesday.
But neither the prosecution nor the defence came to court.
On enquiry from the court registrar, our correspondent was told that the two cases would not go on as the prisons had communicated to the court that they would not bring the defendants to court, citing the unrest in the city occasioned by the widespread #EndSARS protest.
“They are afraid of hijack by protesters,” the court wp-signup.php noted.
When contacted, the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions confirmed the development.
Our correspondent observed that the Correctional Service brought no inmates at all to the court.
The NCS Green Marias were nowhere to be found and the holding cells for keeping inmates on the court premises were empty.
Officials at the holding cells said the NCS had not brought inmates to court since Monday.
The prosecution alleged that they captured and detained Hafia and demanded a $2m ransom from his family.
The defendants, whose trial started since 2017, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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