COURT FREES YOUTH CORPER AFTER NINE YEARS IN PRISON AWAITING TRIAL

Justice Catherine Nwobodo of Enugu High Court in Enugu State, has freed one Kingsley Udenu a youth corper as at the time of his arrest, charged with armed robbery after nine years in prison awaiting trial.
Udenu was freed for what the judge called discrepancies in witnesses’ testimonies.
The suspect was arraigned for armed robbery and illegal possession of firearms in September 2007 and remanded at the Enugu prisons.
The victims claimed that the suspect and his gang robbed them of their phones, money, shirts, fez-cap and other valuables, adding that it was when the suspect was arrested that a live cartridge fell from his pocket.
One of the victims in his testimony told the court that a gang of four men attacked them at 20-B Umunebo Street, Ogui, in Enugu around 2 a.m. robbing them of their belongings.
He also claimed that the suspect was arrested in the morning and handed over to a traditional ruler while the stolen items were recovered from him.
Another victim also said that the suspect was among the three-man robbery gang that attacked him on the same day and carted their belongings.
He alleged that the accused was traced to his house and arrested by the police.
The judge held that given the conflicting evidence by the witnesses, one could not ascertain if the suspect was among the people that robbed the plaintiffs.
Justice Nwobodo, therefore, discharged the suspect for want of evidence.
Reacting to the judgement, Udenu thanked God for seeing him through the traumatic experience.
He said he was preparing to go for his mandatory one year youth corps service when he was arrested.