Narrating his ordeal to CRIME DIGEST on
Wednesday, Akimu said, “I had known Anyanwu for about a year before I
decided to visit her in Lagos. She had a brother at Ozarra whom she
frequently visited. Sometimes, she would stay for some weeks or a month
before going back to Lagos.
“Like me, Anyanwu only had secondary school
education. We were seeing each other during her visits to Enugu. So,
when I was on annual leave in June 2009, I decided to visit Lagos
briefly and see Anyanwu in her residence.
“It was my first visit to Lagos. The day I came to
Lagos, I spent the night with a friend at Ikotun. The next morning, I
went to Lekki, to the address Anyanwu had given me.”
Akimu said he succeeded in locating Anyanwu’s
residence at about 11 am. After stating his mission to the security
guard, he (the guard) admitted him into the compound. Unfortunately, he
did not make it to the
front door of the house before all hell broke
loose.
He said, “Anyanwu’s home was at Lekki Phase. I don’t
recall the name of the street. At the gate, I had to identify myself and
who I came to see before I was let in. I met a girl in the compound,
perhaps about 20 years, but I didn’t talk to her. As I walked up to the
door, the girl let out a scream saying I was a thief. I was rooted to
the spot. This girl kept screaming and screaming. Then about seven young
men rushed out from behind the house. I think there was a boys quarters
there.
“They all pounced on me and started beating me.
Nobody asked me what I came to steal or how I got into the house.
Anyanwu, who was in the main building before my arrival, then came out.
She had been drawn out by the commotion. Immediately she saw I was the
person being attacked, she pleaded with them to stop beating me. She
told them that I was her friend. But nobody listened to her.”
While Akimu was being allegedly assaulted, somebody
phoned Anyanwu’s uncle and alerted him of the development. “Eventually,
Anyanwu’s uncle arrived, but his presence made no difference to me.
Already, some policemen, perhaps from a nearby bank, had come to the
house.
“They searched me and found nothing incriminating.
But even that was still not enough. Anyanwu and I were then taken to the
Maroko Police Station where we made statements. All this while, Anyanwu
had been pleading with her uncle to let me be, but the man wasn’t
listening.
“He seemed to be offended that I was dating his
niece. Even the Investigative Police Officer asked Anyanwu what she had
done to upset her uncle, but she had no answer for him.
“Things did not get better after that. My cell phones
were seized from me. As a result, I could not contact my siblings and
friends to tell them what had befallen me. After a few days, we were
taken to Panti and from there to court. It was during our arraignment
that I learned I was being accused of armed robbery and other offences. I
was really shocked.
“All I did was visit my girlfriend at her home. I was
remanded in Ikoyi Prison and since then, while Anyanwu was taken to
Kirikiri. That was the last time I saw her. My last court appearance was
in 2009. I could not afford the services of a lawyer until the Stephen
and Solomon Foundation came to help me.”
A copy of the charge sheet made available to CRIME DIGEST
showed that Akimu and Anyanwu were both arraigned on five counts of
armed robbery, illegal arms possession, conspiracy and attempted
kidnapping.
The lovers were said to have robbed a certain Vitus
Ezinwa of N5m on June 16, 2009 at about 6.30 am at his Akanbi Disu
residence. They were accused of making an attempt to kidnap a lady named
Munachimso Ezinwa.
When CRIME DIGEST contacted Stephen and
Solomon Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that offers free
legal services to the indigent, the founder and human rights activist,
Aigbonosimuan Giwa-Amu said, “Akimu’s plight was brought to our notice a
few weeks ago and we have since taken up his case as his lawyers. When
one has been charged for armed robbery, it is not easy to get the person
out even when that person has been framed.
“Cases like Akimu’s abound in the prisons. There are
even inmates whose relatives had them locked up for misbehaving. In
fact, most of the inmates in our prisons are not convicted criminals.
They are on remand, awaiting the Directorate for Public Prosecution’s
advice and most for minor offences. This process is cumbersome and
unnecessary.
“The Lagos State Attorney-General has the power to invoke a nolle prosequi
in respect of offenders that have overstayed the length of the term
they would have served had they been convicted. That way, all those
inmates awaiting trail can be speedily released. There is no point in
engaging the services of the Office of the Public Defender to defend
those whose detention the AG can revoke.”
-Punch
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