Absence of counsel to suspected kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike known as Evans, on Friday stalled his trial before a Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square.
Evans is facing two separate charges before the court.
The charges, which border on conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, and attempted murder, are before Justice Adedayo Akintoye.
In the first charge, Evans is standing trial alongside Joseph Emeka, Ugochukwu Nwachukwu, and Victor Aduba.
In the second charge, he is standing trial alongside Joseph Emeka, Victor Aduba, and Linus Okpara.
On Friday, prosecution counsel, Mr Babatunde Sumonu, informed the court that the case was for mention.
Mr B. C. Mbam and Mr. O. A. Egbogbo announced appearances for the second and fourth defendants in the first charge.
The first defendant, Evans, told the court that his counsel was Mr Victor Opara and he did not know why the lawyer was not in court.
The third defendant, Nwachukwu, said his lawyer was aware of the hearing date and he did not know why the lawyer was absent.
In the second charge, Evans’s lawyer was equally absent while counsel to the other defendants were present.
Counsel to the fourth defendant (Linus Okpara), Mr J.C. Jiakponna, asked the court for a date to move his client’s bail application.
Jiakponna said that the application had taken a long time.
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Responding, prosecution counsel, said that he had filed a counter-affidavit to the bail application.
The judge adjourned the case until Jan. 21 for a hearing of the bail application and ordered that hearing notice should be issued to Evans’s counsel.
On Oct. 23, 2019, the judge admitted in evidence, a confessional statement of Evans which admissibility was contested in a trial-within-trial.
Evans had on Jan. 16 told the court that his confessional statement, after his arrest sometime in 2017, was made under duress.
He said that he signed papers given to him by the police with fear to avoid torture. (NAN)
