Justice Bolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has ordered that five Port Harcourt-based men facing terrorism charges be remanded at Kuje Prison in Abuja. The defendants—Chime Eguma Ezebalike, Prince Lukman Oladele, Kenneth Goodluck Kpasa, Osiga Donald, and Ochueja Thankgod—are accused of terrorism offenses related to the invasion, vandalism, and burning of the Rivers State House of Assembly during a political crisis in Port Harcourt in October of the previous year.
The charges also include the alleged killing of a Superintendent of Police, Bako Agbashim, and five police informants at Ahoada community in the state. The informants named are Charles Osu, Ogbonna Eja, Idaowuka Felix, Paul Victor Chibuogu, and Saturday Edi. The Federal Government contends that the defendants utilized various cult groups, including Supreme Viking Confraternity, Degbam, Iceland, and Greenland, to unleash violence on the people of the state and disrupt their commercial activities.
During the arraignment, all five defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. The immediate past factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon Edison Ehie, though not listed in the charges, was represented in court by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oluwole Aladedoyin, as his name featured prominently in the alleged offenses. The court did not allow further arguments about Ehie’s status as a defendant, and the judge scheduled February 2 for the hearing of all bail applications.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Lukman Fagbemi, who stood for the 1st and 2nd defendants, sought to move applications for their bail, citing their extended period in police custody since the previous year. The prosecution vehemently opposed the bail application, stating that they needed time to study the applications and file a counter affidavit. Justice Olajuwon agreed with the prosecution, ruling that the bail applications were not yet ripe for hearing, and ordered the defendants to be taken to Kuje Prison on remand until the adjourned date.
