- The defendants allegedly wrote a petition to the AIG in 2021 containing inaccurate information concerning the death of Mr. Onyemelukwe, who was a resident of their community
- According to the police the petition was false
Three individuals were recently brought before a Magistrate Court in Nanka, Anambra State, on charges of providing the police with false information regarding the murder of Mr. Tochukwu Onyemelukwe.
The accused individuals, namely Mr. Joseph Omegha, Godson Oforkansi, and Martin Okeke, appeared before Magistrate Chioma Ikejiofor on Friday under charge number MCNA/61923.
The court proceedings were conducted in the absence of a fourth defendant, Mr. Jacob Enemuo, who was reported to be unable to attend due to health reasons.
The defendants allegedly wrote a petition to the AIG in 2021 containing inaccurate information concerning the death of Mr. Onyemelukwe, who was a resident of their community.
“You did with intention to mislead a public officer, wrote a petition to the Assistance Inspector-General of Police, FCID annex Enugu, alleging that one Emmanuel Ezeobi, Kosiochukwu Ezechukwu and others, murdered one Tochukwu Onyemelukwe in a broad daylight, the fact you know to be false.
“You did conduct yourselves in a manner likely to cause a breach of public peace when, without any concrete evidence and out of malice, you falsely accused one Emmanuel Ezeobi, Kosiochukwu Ezechukwu and others of killing one Tochukwu Onyemelukwe.”
The men pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The matter was adjourned to September 29 for plea and motion taking.
The complainant’s counsel, Mr. Kyije Abang, informed reporters that the court ordered the defendants to pay a cost of N50,000, which was lower than his initial demand of N100,000. The reduced cost was imposed due to the absence of the defendant’s counsel.
However, the defendant’s counsel arrived in court after the adjournment and explained that he experienced car trouble on the way due to the poor condition of the road.
He mentioned that the magistrate had already suggested applying for the cost to be waived.
The counsel also stated that the court’s purpose was to determine whether false information was provided, and he denied the existence of any false information.