A principal of Secondary School in Rivers State, Chinedu Amadi age 50 years, Ndamati Walison, 37 years, Ezekiel Ovundah 34, Samuel Worndah and Roland Gbeke Wurnah 34 expressly escaped jail term purpotedly arranged for them by opposition, Monday this week at the Magistrate 2 in Port Harcourt granted the accused persons bail.
The aforesaid persons were involved in a communal fracas currently rocking Ekinigbo clan of Rumuigbo and were arrested by the police who later charged them to court on the said Monday July 1, 2013.
In the charges against the persons the police officer who investigated the matter charged the people for cultism other than the communal crisis on assault.
Carefully enough, the counsel to the accused persons petitioned the cultism charges which appeared in counts 1 and 2 of the charge, as the counsel argument attracted reasons for the Chief Magistrate to have called for the police file to see things for himself and read to the open court said the IPO did not obeyed the boss directives in the case. He rather than charging the both parties, one for assault and occasionally harm and the other for fighting in market place, the IPO charged the parties for involvement in cultism.
The presiding magistrate also asked the IPO in course of his investigation, he found any cult related object to prove his claims as such could be recorded but he answered in the negative.
Further arguments by the defence counsel suggested that their case was not a murder case that has to do with capital punishment and that it is bailable thereby pleaded for the bail.
The 5 accused persons were however granted bail.
When regained freedom Chinedu Amadi thank God for his freedom again and said that from his experience in the police cell, half freedom is better than the cell where he slept on bare floor.
Chinedu also thank God who did not allow the plans of his enemies to manifest as according to him it was planned to suffer him in custody and go about rubbishing him on the pages of newspapers that a principal and other community leaders have been imprisoned, they have already told his family that he is finished as he is not to come out again.
In his speech, the clan PRO advised community indigenes, to love one another and to be law abiding, never to react because of the humiliation which they have been subjected to in the cause of the arrest, knowing that they are still brothers living together with them.###
Mene Gbarabe
