By Praise Chinecherem
Three persons have been arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Nanka, Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State, for allegedly giving false information to police on the murder of one Tochukwu Onyemelukwe.
The accused, Joseph Omegha, Godson Oforkansi and Martin Okeke were arraigned before Magistrate Chioma Ikejiofor in a matter with charge number: MCNA/61923.
A fourth defendant, Jacob Enemuo was absent from court on health ground.
The defendants, accused of giving police false information in a petition written to the AIG in 2021 over Onyemelukwe’s death, however pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Part of the information on the charge sheet read: “That you Joseph Omegha ‘m’, Godson Oforkansi ‘m’, Martin Okeke ‘m’ and Jacob Enemuo ‘m’, sometimes in December, 2021 conspired among yourselves to commit a misdeamanor to wit: giving false information to a public servant, and you thereby committed an offence punishable under 496(a) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap. 36, vol. II, Revised Laws of Anambra State of Nigeria, 1991, as amended.
“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 and others, murdered one Tochukwu Onyemelukwe in a broad day light, the fact you know to be false.
“You did conduct yourselves in a manner likely to cause the breach of public peace when you without any concrete evidence and out of malice falsely accused one Emmanuel Ezeobi and others for killing one Tochukwu Onyemelukwe.”
The matter was adjourned to September 29 for plea and motion taking.
Counsel to the complainant, who is the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kyije Abang told reporters that the court awarded N50,000 cost to the defendants, against his demand for N100,000 for the inability of defendant’s counsel to appear.
Meanwhile, counsel to the defendant, Uche Nnadozie who arrived the court after adjournment said: “I was on my way to court when my car broke down as a result of bad road.
“The magistrate has already asked me to apply for the cost to be waived. As for providing false information, that is what the court is here to ascertain. There is nothing like false information.”
