Re-arraignment Of Notorious Kidnap Kingpin, Evans, Suffers Setback

The Ikeja High Court could not continue with the re-arraignment of a notorious kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwamadike, popularly known as Evans, after two co-defendants failed to appear before the sitting.

Naija News reports that Evans, along with Joseph Emeka, Chiemeka Arinze, and Udeme Upong, appeared before Justice Adenike Coker at the Ikeja High Court on Thursday, January 17, 2024.

However, while Evans and Emeka were present, Arinze and Upong were absent.

Justice Coker inquired about the whereabouts of the missing defendants and questioned why they failed to attend the court proceedings.

She advised the prosecution to organize their case and ensure that the defense counsels receive the necessary evidence before the next adjourned date.

Consequently, the judge adjourned the matter until February 1st for the arraignment to take place.

Just before the session ended, the court was informed by the Lagos State Prosecutor, Titi Adeegbe, that the third and fourth defendants were not present and she had no information regarding their current status.

During the proceedings, Ms Mary Dibiaeze, the defense counsel representing Evans, reminded the court that the third defendant had passed away, while the fourth defendant had been discharged from the case.

The counsel for the second defendant, Nelson Onyejaka, informed the court that they had not received any proof of evidence from the prosecution.

Naija News recalls that Evans had previously been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by Justice Hakeem Oshodi in February 2022.

Subsequently, Evans and his co-defendants were sentenced to 21 years imprisonment by retired Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo before her retirement.