Five Persons Docked Over Malicious Damage

Five indigenes of
Emilagham community in Abua/Odual local government area of Rivers State have been arraigned before a Port Harcourt Chief Magistrate Court presided over the Emmanuel C. Woke for an alleged malicious damage and other criminal activities on charge sheet PMC/530C/2014.
The accused persons arraigned include Oporo Namasi, 47, Joseph Benson, 50, Albert Itari, 30, are standing trial on three-count charge of threatening violence and malicious damage before E. C. Woke of Chief Magistrate Court 2.
The arraignment of the five accused persons was in continuation of the earlier arraignment of the community’s paramount ruler, Chief Sunday Iwori, who was arraigned on a similar charge on charge sheet number PMC/81C/2014 by the same court.
The police prosecuting officer, Sgt Aaron Nsirem, told the court that the accused persons and others at large some time in the month of January, 2014 at Emilagham Community, in Abua, Abua/Odual local government area of Rivers State, in the Port Harcourt Magisterial District did conspire amongst themselves to commit misdemeanor to wit: threatening violence and malicious damage.
The prosecuting police officer also told the court that the accused persons in the aforesaid Magisterial District, while armed with gun and intent to intimidate or cause panic, did threaten the life of one Chief Deghobo Ogbaghama and Kufere Abasi and said that if they did not leave the affairs of the community that they were going to shoot them with gun.
The police prosecutor further told the court that the accused and others at large on the same date and place, in the aforesaid magisterial district, did willfully, unlawfully and maliciously damage, one mud house yet-to-be estimated, distilled canoe, value yet to be estimated, drums metal value yet to be estimated and steel pipe value yet to be estimated, property of one Kufere Abasi.
He said that the accused persons committed an offence punishable under section 517A, 86 and 451 of the criminal code cap 37 Vol. 11 laws of the Rivers State of Nigeria, 1999.
However, all the accused persons pleaded not guilty on all the charges brought against them.
In his ruling, the presiding Chief Magistrate, Emmanuel Woke, admitted the accused persons to bail of N100,000 with one surety each in like sum.
The presiding Chief Magistrate further directed that each of the sureties must swear an affidavit of means which must be verified by the court prosecutor, warning that he will revoke the temporary bail granted if the accused persons are not of good behavior in their community. The case was later adjourned to 28/4/2014.

Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, delivering her address at the swearing-in of new judges of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, last Monday.