JUSTICE Abdulazeez Anka of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday refused to hear a fundamental rights suit filed by suspected kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike  (alias Evans), seeking N300 million damages for illegal detention.

Instead, he returned the case file to the Acting Chief Judge Justice Adamu Kafarati for further directive.

Justice Anka had earlier heard the case during the court’s long vacation and adjourned till August 29 for judgment after parties argued it and adopted their addresses on August 16.

But, the police, through their counsel Mr.  David Igbodo, said another lawyer, Henry Obiazi, who represented the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Police when the case was heard, did so without authorisation.

The police prayed the court to set aside all the “purported” arguments made by Obiazi and to set aside the ruling delivered by Justice Anka on August 16 in which he adjourned for judgment.

When the case came up before another judge, Justice Chuka Obiozor, who took over from Justice Anka during the long vacation, he (Obizor) held that the case was no longer urgent since Evans had been arraigned.

Justice Obizor then returned the file to the chief judge for re-assignment to another judge, as only urgent matters are heard during long vacation.

The case was subsequently re-assigned to Justice Babs Kuewemi.

However, Evans’ lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, wrote a letter to the chief judge, informing him that Justice Anka had already adjourned the case for judgment.

Based on the letter, the case file was again returned to Justice Anka.

When the case came up before Justice Anka yesterday, the judge expressed displeasure with fact that the case was returned to him when the issue of judgment had been overtaken by events.

The judge said since the police had filed other applications, the earlier adjournment for judgment had become void.

He said even if he had written the judgment earlier, it meant that a new one would be written.

Police counsel Mr. Chukwu Agwu accused Ogungbeje of “smuggling” the case file back to Justice Anka’s court.

“The case was re-assigned to Justice Kuewumi. How my learned colleague smuggled this case to this court is baffling. He did not avail us with a copy of his letter to the chief judge, otherwise we would have reacted,” he said.

But, Ogungbeje said his letter was on the premise that since a judgment had already been fixed, it could be delivered by Justice Anka after entertaining the late applications filed by the police.

“We felt that their application was stalling the judgment, and that if my lord dismisses their application, the way will be clear to deliver the judgment,” he said.

But, Justice Anka held that it was not factual to say that judgment had been reserved “when it’s not”, adding that the court was obliged to hear the fresh applications by the police.

He said the case was not adjourned for judgment but for further hearing, adding that Ogungbeje’s claim that the case was for judgment was not the true position.

Ruling, he said: “The case was made for hearing of the motion of the first and second respondents. The court shall, therefore, cause a letter to be written to the Administrative Judge to explain the true position of the case, which is for further hearing and not for judgment.

“Parties shall, therefore, await the decision of the Admin Judge, either to re-assign the case or for this court to maintain the case in its cause list.”

Evans is claiming N300 million as damages from the police for alleged illegal detention and rights violation.

He has since been arraigned before Justice Hakeem Oshodi of the Lagos State High Court.

The prosecution said Evans and his accomplices, between February 14 and April 12 on Obokun Street, Ilupeju, Lagos, armed with guns and other dangerous weapons, captured and detained one Mr. Duru Donatus.

They allegedly collected a ransom of 223,000 Euros to release Donatus.

Ogungbeje later issued a statement alleging that Evans was forced to plead guilty.

A suspected robber and kidnapper, Linus Opara, has said he did not know the magic by which suspected billionaire kidnapper, Evans, lured him into his kidnapping gang.

Linus, 53, spoke at the headquarters of the Lagos State Police Command in GRA, Ikeja Lagos while narrating how he worked with the alleged kidnap kingpin before he was arrested.

He said: ”Do not look at my white hair; it is not as a result of old age. Rather, my hair turned white because of long suffering after my graduation as a civil engineer from the University of Ibadan. It is still a surprise to me how an illiterate person like Evans was able to lure me into kidnapping and all his illicit business.

”I studied Civil Engineering in the University of Ibadan. I am married with four children and they are still schooling. My wife is a graduate of Accountancy from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), but she has not secured work till date.”

The resident of No. 3, Apon Street, Olowola Bus Stop, Igando, Lagos, who said he ran a company—Linok Construction Company—based at No. 3 Umezinne Street, off Saint Peters Street, Alaba, Lagos, described himself as “a mere informant” to the alleged kidnap kingpin. He said his role in the gang was to monitor victims while Evans paid him any amount he deemed fit for his services.

Police sources said that Linus was arrested at about 9 pm on July 20, 2017 at his house in Igando, Lagos. He claimed that he was introduced to Evans by a notorious kidnapper identified simply by members of the gang as Doctor, but died at Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, during the exchange of gun fire with the police in 2016.

Embattled Evans, according to a police source, had revealed that Linus was one of his informants.

Linus said: “I am not anything to Evans. We only address him as chairman and sometimes as president of group of companies. I was arrested and taken to the State Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS) building in Ikeja on 20th July, 2017.

“I saw Evans for the first time the day I supplied a nutrition supplement because I am a distributor. The second time I met Evans was when policemen took me from their cell to an unknown place in Lagos, because I was blindfolded. I could not see where they were taking me to.

”It was when they took me to Evans that they removed the blindfold and I saw him. I addressed him as Nwachinemelu. Police were asking both of us questions and I was answering accordingly. They asked me how many times I worked for Evans and I said two times, and that I turned him down the third time that he asked me to do another job. I told the police that I monitored victims for him and he paid me. I did not know the names of the victims.

”During the first work I did for him, he sent a motorcycle rider to meet me at Olowola Bus Stop. He gave my phone number to him and he called me. When I met him, I asked him where he was taking me to. He said he was taking me to Trade Fair area. So I entered (sic) his motorcycle and he took me to under the bridge at Trade Fair.

”He drove (rode) towards Mile 2 area. Evans called me and asked where we were and I told him. But he asked me to go home; that I had done well. When we reached Alakija, I told him and he said I should not worry myself; that he had told others to allow me to go to my house. When he called again, he asked me to send my bank account number to him. I sent my First Bank account number to him and he wired the sum of N2 million to my account. I was surprised.

”The second time, it was the same process as he already had my bank account number. He sent me the sum of N700,000. When he called me for the third job, I told him that I was not interested, because I started sensing some errors in the business, like getting afraid for the kind of money he was giving me. The money he was giving me in the twinkle of an eye was bigger than the money I used to make in a whole year as a civil engineer”.