Hakeem Oshodi, a judge at the Ikeja high court, Lagos state, has warned members of the public to stop leaving charms in his courtroom.
Before the start of the trial on Monday, the judge told those present in the courtroom “not to leave your property here again. It does not work anymore”.”
“No one should leave charms in my courtroom. It should not be repeated. A talisman was found after the last adjourned date in the murder case,” the judge said.
At the trial, the Lagos state government brought charges against five suspects — Atunrase Omolabi, Shittu Olawale, Olaide Opeifa, Olanrewaju Adebiyi aka Maja, and Jamiu Omosanya aka Orobo.
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The suspects were charged with the attempted murder and murder of one Ifeanyi Etunmuse at Western Funeral Home in the Ikorodu area of the state.
Olanrewaju Ajanaku, the lead defence, had cross-examined one Babatunde Olayinka, prosecution witness, if he could confirm that the defendants had a hand in the attack on the deceased.
Ajanaku also asked the witness if he was able to get a view of the compound where the incident occurred from his hiding place following the alleged attack.
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“I hid myself in the cemetery, and lay down for a while to hide from a group of men that were wielding machetes at the Onamade compound on the day of the incident, April 16, 2021,” the witness told the court.
Olanrewaju, in the cross-examination, said he could not identify the defendants as the murderers.
On his part M.T. Adewoye, the prosecution counsel, re-examined the witness and asked him to clarify what he meant about being unable to identify the “murderers”.
The witness told the court that he indeed saw the machete-wielding men when they came into the compound but could not place the faces of those involved.
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The prosecution lawyer requested the court to issue a witness summons for one Femi Onamade to appear in court.
The judge then issued a witness summons for Onamade and adjourned the matter until February 19, 2024, for the continuation of the trial.
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