Court remands five suspects over inferno at Rivers assembly, ‘killing’ of police officer

A federal high court in Abuja has remanded five men for allegedly burning the Rivers state house of assembly complex in October 2023.

The suspects, Chime Ezebalike, Prince Oladele, Kenneth Kpasa, Osiga Donald and Ochueja Thankgod, were arraigned before Bolaji Olajuwon, the presiding judge, on Thursday.

On October 29, 2023, a fire gutted a section of the assembly complex and the main chamber amid plans to initiate impeachment proceedings against Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers.

At the court session on Thursday, the suspects were arraigned on a seven-count charge for allegedly burning down the Rivers assembly complex,  killing a superintendent of police, Bako Agbashim and five police informants in Ahoada community.

The police informants alleged to have been killed were Charles Osu, Ogbonna Eja, Idaowuka Felix, Paul Chibuogu and Saturday Edi.

The federal government also accused them of using various cult groups, including Supreme Viking Confraternity, Degbam, Iceland and Greenland to unleash mayhem on the people of the state and their commercial activities.

Upon arraignment, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the offences.

Although Edison Ehie, former factional speaker of the Rivers house of assembly, was not listed among the suspects for the seven-count terrorism charges, he was represented in court by Oluwole Aladedoyin, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), on the ground that his name featured prominently in the alleged offences.

Ehie challenged the allegations that he was at large alongside other suspects.

Shortly after the arraignment, Lukman Fagbemi, counsel to Chime Ezebalike and Prince Oladele (first and second defendants), sought to move for bail applications, arguing that the suspects have been in police custody since last year.

However, Audu Garba, prosecution counsel, objected to the bail applications.

Garba told the court that he had just been served with the bail applications and needed time to study them before filing a counter affidavit.

He sought a date for the commencement of the trial.

In his reaction, the judge ruled that the bail applications were not mature enough to entertain and fixed February 2 for hearing of all bail applications.

The judge also ordered that the five suspects be taken to Kuje prison on remand and be returned to court on the adjourned date.