Aluu 4: Accused Admits Involvement

One of the accused persons standing trial in the murder of four students of University of Port Harcourt in Omukiri, Aluu, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, Mr Segun Lawal has admitted that he was not induced or tortured by the police to make the statement of his involvement in the alleged killing of the four students, last year.
Lawal, 31, who hails from Ilesha community in Osun State, made the revelation during the trial-within-trial cross examination at the resumption of the trial, yesterday in Port Harcourt.
Lawal, who is the first accused, told the court that he signed the statement at the Central Investigation Department (CID) of the state police command after the police played the video tape which recorded how the students were killed, adding that he saw him- self in the mob that participated in the  killing.
According to him, he was not under any form of duress to make any declaration at the police station, adding that the statement he gave was true on his role in the murder.
“When the police played the video, I saw myself in the midst of the crowd, but I was only begging them to leave the boys”, he stated.
The accused, who had earlier told the court that the police forced and beat him before he signed the statement at the station, revised his earlier position, and later told the court that the statement was given willingly.
In his submission, counsel to the  accused person, Barr Joshua Kehinde opposed the admissibility of the  statement given by the accused person on the ground that the statement was an involuntary one and not confessional, adding that the statement given by his client was gotten under torture and duress.
He submitted that section 28 of the Evidence Act stipulated that for a statement to be admitted and accepted by the court, such statement shall be voluntary and confessional.
The prosecution counsel; led by the state Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Mr Rufus Godwins, urged the court to jettison the submission made by the defence counsel noting that it was a ploy to make the  statement in admissible before the court.
The prosecution urged the court to hold that the statement was voluntary and obtained from the accused without any form of torture.
According to him, the inconsistency and body language displayed by the accused was an indication that he lied to the court, adding that the accused has admitted that he signed the statement without any form of intimidation.
In his ruling, the trial judge, Justice Letan Nyordee while adjourning the matter to 13th March, 2014, opined that he will give reason on the admissibility of the statement after cross examination of all the accused persons in the matter.