I was forced to transport armed robbers, suspect tells court

Emeka Igwe said he was forced at gun point to carry the robbers.

Emeka Igwe, a suspect, on Wednesday told the Lagos High Court, Igbosere, that he was a victim of circumstance and not an armed robber, as charged by the police.

Mr. Igwe, a commercial motorcycle operator, told Justice Christopher Balogun during cross examination by his counsel, G.I. Izuagbe, that he had to pick two men on his bike, after being threatened with a gun.
“I was at a motorcycle park at Okokomaiko, Lagos, when two men approached me to take them to Badagry.


“On the way, they threatened me with a gun and took me to a bush where we waited for their friends that had gone to rob. I can’t remember the particular place. But all of a sudden, I saw people chasing after the armed robbers and I hid in the bush.

“After several hours, I came out of the bush late in the night and took a bus heading toward Okokomaiko. It was the driver and the conductor of the bus that took me to the police station, after I told them what happened,” Mr. Igwe said.

According to him, he later found out at the station, after identifying his motorcycle, that the driver and the conductor that brought him were members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC).

Justice Balogun then adjourned the case to September 18 for adoption and argument in respect of a final address, intended to be filed by the defence counsel.

Mr. Igwe had been in custody since 2008, awaiting the DPP’s advice, before he was later charged to court in 2009.

According to the charge sheet, Mr. Igwe, 28, of No. 15, Olokodana St., Okokomaiko, has conspired with others now at large, to commit conspiracy and armed robbery.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge, which contravened Sections 295 and 409 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State.
(NAN)

Source: Premium Times