Sel-confessed billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike a.k.a. Evans has filed a fundamental rights enforcement action before the Lagos Federal High Court in Lagos, asking the court to order the police to charge him to court or release him immediately.
Joined as respondents in the said suit marked FHC/L/CS/1012/2017 are the Nigeria Police Force, Commissioner of Police, Lagos State and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Lagos State Police Command.
In a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed on his behalf by a Lagos-based lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, the suspected kidnapper is seeking for a court’s order directing the respondents to immediately charge him to court if there is any case against him in accordance with Sections 35 (1) (c) (3) (4) (5) (a) (b) and 36 of the Constitution.
According to PUNCH, Evans is on the alternative seeking for an order compelling the respondents to immediately release him unconditionally in the absence of any offence that will warrant his being charged to court.
Evans is contending that his continued detention by the respondents since June 10, 2017, without being charged to court or released on bail is an infringement on his fundamental human rights.
In the meantime, some Nigerians who have reacted to the new development coming from the kidnap kingpin either condemn him for attempting to coax the court to free him since, according to one of them, “It is not possible for the police to charge him to court when investigations to get more about him and his network have not been concluded. I can however urge the police to speed up and stop somewhere so far they have something to charge him with in a case as straight forward as this.”
Another person who reacted said, ” I dont blame him, in fact they should hurry up his trial and execute him if he is guilty.”
Yet another respondent, simply identified as Suny Lulu, said, “Evans must either be mentally sick to have filed this suit or he must have been misadvised by his counsel. Did those innocent people he kidnapped for ransom, tortured and/or killed have no fundamental human rights? He should consider himself lucky that he will one day be given the opportunity to appear in court because criminals like him in the Philipines would long have kissed the world good bye,” he said.
In his own submission however, one Thomas Ayan, in his comment on the report of Evans suit against police, said, “The Lawyer handling the case must fear God.”
