A driver, Tunde Abela, 34-years-old who claimed he was victim of a robbery attack in the hands of Amarachukwu Asonta, 27-year-old female officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, and her colleague, Adebayo Ajayi, 32, has narrated how he was attacked by the NSCDC official on January 30, 2018 before Justice Oyindamola Ogala of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja.
The prosecution witness, Mr.Abela told the court that the male defendants was armed with guns at the time he was accosted.
He alleged that both defendants were the culprits that highjacked from him an Iveco Container Truck containing 1,700 cartons of Chelsea and Action Bitters drinks.
Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, Dr. Babajide Martins, the driver of the truck said, “As I was coming form Sango-Ota when I left the factory around 11:35p.m, loaded with Chelsea and Action Bitters,when I got to Ojodu Berger, I saw a vehicle that blocked my truck.
Pointing to the defendants, the witness claimed that the officers said they have been asking me to stop but that I did not stopped.
“I asked them which area did they asked me to stop and I didn’t stop, they said at my back.”
The first prosecution witness said he told the defendants that he did not see a roadblock, he continued that the woman officer asked for the waybill.
According to the witness, “She checked it and asked that I come down from the vehicle, I asked what happened, she didn’t tell me anything so I came down.
Also pointing towards the second defendant, Abela said, “This man with gun said I refused to come down.
He explained further to the judge that three other persons now at large joined them in their mission.
He said that three other men came down from a Mazda vehicle and along with the defendants entered the truck and drove the truck to Berger area.
He said the defendants at the time he was accosted were dressed in uniforms.
He explained, “The lady wore a Civil Defence trouser and a black T-Shirt.
He also told the court that the first defendant ordered him to enter their own vehicle, and he continued,”They said they were taking me to Civil Defence office at Alausa.
“When they took me somewhere, I realised it was not the Civil Defence office, there was no light there and nobody was there and the driver who drove the Mazda told them that I refused to come down from the vehicle.”
Stating that he was taken to a certain place in Fagba, area, the witness said further that the defendant asked the driver to buy recharge card.
“He asked me for my phone and I said the phone that has been collected by the defendants with my waybill.
He said they later took him to a hall where party was being held. “As we were there, a police patrol vehicle came and the officers asked what we were doing there at the hour of the day, at almost 2:00a.m.
“I told the policemen all that happened.”
“It was then the police took us to their station at Pen Cinema, I used police number to call my boss.
“My boss called me back to ask what happened and I explained to him.
He said that policemen asked the driver about others, but stressed that it was only when police beat the driver that he brought out his phone and called others.
He also told the court that upon hearing that the drivers were at the police station, the defendants switched off their phones.
He added that they called back at 4:00a.m. The witness said the police asked if he could identify the truck and took him in their vehicle to Fagba where he saw the truck and drove it to the Police Station.
When asked by Dr. Martins how he was able to know that the defendants were officers of the Civil Defence, he claimed, “The second defendant was wearing a complete civil defence uniform and holding a rifle while the lady wore a civil defence trouser and a black shirt.”
The lawyer who held brief for the defence counsel informed the court that he could not cross-examimed the witness at the trial.
Further hearing in the matter has been adjourned till April 13 and May 19, 2022.
