By Thompson Yamput.
A High Court sitting in Lokoja has adjourned to November 25 the trial of two police inspectors accused of involvement in kidnapping and armed robbery.
The defendants, Inspectors Sunday Ibrahim and Gabriel Ogunleye, are standing trial alongside two others, Moses Oguche and Michael Kayode, both members of the Kogi Hunters Association.
They were arraigned before Justice Moses Gwatana of High Court V, Lokoja, on Wednesday.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty to charges bordering on criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and kidnapping.
The prosecution alleged that the defendants used AK-47 rifles to rob two residents of Crusher/Felele, Lokoja,Yusuf Mustapha and David Kabo,of an iPhone and ₦48,000 in June 2024, adding that the offences contravene sections 97, 298 (c), and 4(3)(b) of the Kogi State Penal Code.
When the case came up for defence, the two police inspectors expressed surprise over their arrest and prosecution.
Ibrahim, a regular policeman formerly attached to Offa Division in Kwara State, said he had been on a three-month special assignment in Kogi when he was arrested. Ogunleye, a mobile police officer from Afon Division, Kwara State, said he was posted to AIG Zone 8, Lokoja, for a one-month special duty.
Ibrahim told the court that the Nigeria Police Force had since dismissed him from service over the ongoing trial, while Ogunleye said his salary was stopped without explanation.
Led in evidence by their counsel, Mr. Liman Salihu, Ibrahim testified that he was at his duty post at the Sand Bar section of the AIG’s office in Zone 8 when three officers invited him to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) office at the Kogi State Police Command.
“On getting there, I was shown the other three accused persons whom the police claimed I conspired with to kidnap and rob people I don’t even know. I was detained for three months before being taken to court,” Ibrahim said.
During cross-examination by Dr. Abdullahi Zakari, the prosecution counsel and Director of Civil Litigation at the Ministry of Justice, Ibrahim said he had served 19 years in the force without any record of misconduct before the case arose.
Also testifying, Ogunleye said he joined the police in 2003 and had maintained a clean record until his posting to Kogi.
He narrated that three plain-clothes officers attached to the state CID approached him at work and asked him to report to their office after closing hours.
“I went there at about 9 p.m. and was shown the other defendants. They asked if I knew them, and I said no. I was then asked to write a statement, but I refused until I saw my lawyer or a family member. “Later, they wrote it themselves and asked me to sign, but I refused,” he said.
Under cross-examination, Ogunleye said he only knew Inspector Ibrahim as a fellow officer on special duty at the AIG’s office and had no prior relationship with him.
“I have spent 22 years in service, but my salary was stopped because of this case,” he told the court.
The two other defendants, Oguche and Kayode, also denied any involvement in the alleged crimes.
After listening to all the defendants, Justice Moses Gwatana adjourned the case to November 25 for the adoption of final written or oral addresses.
— NAN
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
