News - Again, arraignment of Cynthia Osokogu’s suspected killers fails to hold

[TGD]

 THE arraignment of four suspected killers of Cynthia Osokogu, the Nigerian lady who was killed by her Facebook friends at an hotel in Lagos, was on Tuesday stalled for the second time.

The charges of murder, stealing, possession of stolen property and negligence brought against Okwumo Nwabufo, Ezike Olisaeloka, Orji Osita and Ezike Nonso at the Ikeja High Court, Lagos, could not proceed as   counsel to the defendants in the matter told the court that they were not properly served with the processes on the matter.

Counsel to the second and fourth defendants, Olu Kayode, also told the court that the statements of his clients were not included in the amended charge. The prosecution team, led by the Attorney General of Lagos State, Mr. Ade Ipaye, admitted the mix-up in serving the processes to one of the defence counsel but promised to immediately sort out the issue.

The presiding Justice Olabisi Akinlade subsequently adjourned the matter to February 8, 2013 for trial. The matter came up earlier in January but was similarly adjourned because one of the defendants, Osita, was not in court.

In a six-count charge filed before the court, the state alleged that two of the suspects, Okwumo and Ezike, on or about July 22, 2012, at Cosmilla Hotel, Amuwo-Odofin, Festac Town, conspired to murder Cynthia Osokogu.

The state alleged that the suspects murdered Cynthia by administering Rohypnol Flunitrazepan tablet into her drink, chained her hands and legs and strangled her to death. The duo was also alleged to have stolen three blackberry phones valued at N150,000, jewelries, an international passport and a driver's licence belonging to her after they had strangled her to death.

The third suspect, Orji Osita, was charged for negligently selling the Rohypnol Flunitrazepan tablets to Ezike, the second defendant, without a doctor's prescription and without showing due care. And Ezike Nonso, who allegedly bought Cynthia's stolen blackberry bold 5, was charged for being in possession of a stolen phone.

The late Osokogu was the only daughter of Maj. Frank Osokogu (rtd). She was a post-graduate student and owner of a popular fashion store in Nassarawa State. She was said to have met with her suspected killers on the Facebook social media site.

Her killers were said to have confessed to the police that they lured her to Lagos from her base in Nassarawa State under the pretext that they were also into clothing business. After receiving her at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos, they took her to a hotel in Festac Town.

Eloka was said to have confessed to the police that they later put Rohypnol tablet in her Ribena drink and raped her for about 12 hours, and after discovering that she did not have a lot of money on her as they had presumed, they later strangled her.



The Guardian