Hearing on ‘Apo 6’ stalled again

The trial of six police officers at the Abuja High Court over the alleged 2005 murder of six Abuja auto-spare parts dealers (pictured above) has again been adjourned, following the absence of the presiding judge, Justice Ishaq Bello.

The office of the attorney-general of the federation is accusing police officers, Nicholas Zacharia, Emmanuel Baba, Emmanuel Acheneje and Sadiq Salami of killing the traders, whose names were given as Ifeanyi Ozo, Chinedu Meniru, Isaac Ekene, Paulinus Ogbonna, Anthony Nwokike and Tina Arebun.

Two other accused policemen — Danjuma Ibrahim and Othman Abdulsalami — are at large).

The deceased, aged between 21 years and 25 years, were returning from a night party in 2005 when they were allegedly killed.

The trial of the suspects has been adjourned several times due to the absence of the trial judge, Bello, who was recently appointed as the chairman of the Anambra Election Petitions Tribunal.

On Wednesday, the case could not proceed as scheduled, because the judge was “on a national assignment” and had already authorised an adjournment until July 17, 2014.

According to NAN, prosecuting counsel Chris Uche and counsel to the first accused Rickey Tarfa were informed at the resumed sitting on Wednesday that Justice Bello was still away on his national assignment.

Earlier in July 2013, Justice Bello had granted a request by the prosecution to recall a witness, Ede Ayuba, an assistant commissioner of police.

But Tarfa objected, challenging the recall of the witness, who had “tendered guns and other weapons allegedly recovered in connection with the incident.”

He argued that the request contravened Section 237 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

However, the prosecuting counsel urged the court to overrule the objection, saying the witness only came to give his evidence and tendered supporting exhibits.

Bello ruled that the recall of the witness was in line with the relevant sections of the law, and dismissed the defence counsel’s objection.

He had also previously admitted certified copies of medical report of the examinations conducted on the deceased as exhibit.

The aforementioned policemen killed the six traders in 2005 on the account that they were armed robbers, but the Apo Traders Union has consistently maintained that the deceased were not robbers but legitimate traders whom the police murdered extra-judicially.