A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt will on September 29 take the plea of four men linked with the robbery and murder of one Chidi Onwukwe, in Elelenwo, Port Harcourt.
The four, according to the charge marked PHC/667/CR/2022 filed by the police, are Samuel Onwukwe, 49, (1st defendant), Andrew Epai Otanye, 27, (2nd defendant), Samuel Emmason, 26, (3rd defendant) and Promise George, 30, (4th defendant).
Justice Sylvester Popnen fixed the date following the absence of the prosecutor and the suspects.
On the last adjourned date, July 16, proceedings were stalled following the absence of counsel for three of the suspects.
Also, prosecution counsel Essien Edet sought to amend the charge against the defendants.
The court adjourned till July 28, to give the suspects time to get legal representatives so the court could take the suspects’ plea.
When proceedings resumed yesterday, the prosecutor and three suspects were unavailable. But third defendant, Blessed Onyekachi, who is on administrative bail, was present in court.
Counsel for the second defendant, Jane Okpamen, told the court that the prosecutor was not in town.
She said: “The prosecutor called me that he went to Akwa Ibom and said I should take a date after the vacation.”
Okpamen said the second defendant was at the police station waiting for the police to bring him to court.
She prayed the court to strike out the matter until the prosecutor was ready to proceed with it.
Declining her application, Justice Popnen adjourned till September 29 for the defendants to take their plea.
Credit : THE NATION.
