The Anambra state police have arraigned three persons at a Magistrate Court in Nanka, Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State, for allegedly giving false information regarding the murder of one Tochukwu Onyemelukwe.
Joseph Omegha, Godson Oforkansi and Martin Okeke, were arraigned before Chioma Ikejiofor on Friday, with charge number: MCNA/61923. A fourth defendant, Mr Jacob Enemuo, was absent from court on health grounds.
The defendants were arrested for allegedly giving police false information in a petition they wrote to the AIG in 2021, over the death of an indigene of the community, Onyemelukwe.
According to the charge sheet; “That you Joseph Omegha ‘m’, Godson Oforkansi ‘m’, Martin Okeke ‘m’ and Jacob Enemuo ‘m’, sometimes in the month of 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, 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 three men, however, pleaded not guilty. But Mr Kyije Abang, counsel to the complainant in the person of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egebtokun, told the press that the court awarded N50,000 cost to the defendants, against his demand for N100,000 for the defendant’s counsel’s inability to appear.
The matter was adjourned to September 29 for plea and motion taking.
Meanwhile, counsel to the defendant, who later came to court after adjournment, said: “I was coming to court when my car broke down because of the 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.”
