Hon. Ojukaye Flag Amachree, a chieftain of the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC and a former executive chairman of Asari-Toru Local Government Asalga is currently standing trial before a High Court in Port Harcourt for an alleged murder. The ex-Asalga boss is remanded in prisons custody.
The trial of Hon. Flag Amachree is no doubt shrouded with so much controversies.
The former council boss was accused of allegedly killing one Iminabo Dokubo, Smart Soberekon and inflicted life sustaining injuries on another Ipalibo Jackson.
Few months ago, Flag Amachree was expected to appear before the Chief Judge of Rivers State, but the authorities of the Port Harcourt prisons failed to bring him to court attributed his non appearance to health and security reasons.
On several fora, members of the APC say due process is not been followed in the murder trial of former chairman of Asalga, and thereby described Flag Amachree as a “political prisoner”.
However, the Rivers State government through its Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Emmanuel Aguma has denied that it is on a vindictive mission to prosecute, Hon. Flag Amachree.
He said the state government was only acting on the report of police investigation on the matter which revealed that Hon. Flag Amachree alleged shot and killed two people and injured one person in Buguma on 11th of April, 2016.
Justice Aguma continued by saying that the survival of the gunshot Ipalibo Jackson has evidence to show that the ex-Asalga boss committed the alleged murder act.
However, the continued incarceration of Flag Amachree had forced his ardent supporters and civil society groups to stage a massive protest. The trial Judge Hon. Justice Margaret Opara, wife of a prominent PDP chieftain, Chief Austin Opara had denied Hon. Flag Amachree bail on health grounds. The protesters were calling for rule of law, fairness and equity in line with known criminal procedures.
Meanwhile, Henry Odili, lawyer to Flag Amachree has alleged that the Rivers State government was instrumental to the assignment of the case to Justice Margaret Opara, so that the former council chairman will be committed into prison.
Henry Odili also alleged that Austin Opara had a meeting with some groups including one Livingstone Weche of the Integrity Group and the Civil Liberty Organization vowed that Flag Amachree must go to prison for allegedly killing one Smart Soberekon in Buguma.
Austin Opara had since denied the said allegation, saying that he will resist attempts by groups and individuals to intimidate and also blackmail his wife, Margaret Opara who is handling the Ojukaye’s murder case.
Meanwhile information reaching our newsroom had revealed that the former Asalga boss might be smuggled out of the Port Harcourt prisons.
A prison warder hinted our correspondent that in the past few months he had not sighted Hon. Flag Amachree in the prison custody. He told this weekly that the ex-council boss is nowhere to be found in the Port Harcourt prisons yard.
According to our source, Ojukaye must have moved out of the prisons custody on health and security grounds to unknown destination.
Our source revealed that Ojukaye alleged disappearance in prison must have being the issue of his frequent absence from court to face his murder trial.
All efforts to contact the authorities of the Port Harcourt prisons failed. ###
