A 34 year old carpenter from Agbor, Monday Ogbuenyi is to spend the next 34 months in jail with hard labor for demanding property by written threats.
This was the verdict of an Asaba High Court presided over by Honourable Justice Marshal Mukoro, Wednesday. The accused was charged before the Court on a 5 count information charge of conspiracy to commit felony to wit: kidnapping, demanding property by written threats, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and armed robbery. The Court, however, discharged him on four of the charges on the grounds of no case submission and lack of sufficient evidence.
Prosecution had told the Court at the commencement of trial that Monday Ogbuenyi, with others now at large, on or about the 18th day of November, 2011, at Modi/Ojeifo Street, Agbor, within the Agbor Judicial Division allegedly robbed a sales girl of a Pharmacy (name withheld) of a sales bag containing the sum of N6, 000 while armed with a gun. He was later discharged on this count.
According to prosecution, the accused and his gang members now at large, after allegedly robbing the store and not satisfied with their loots, later dropped a handwritten threat letter with a red ink asking the Pharmacist to comply with their directives or risked being kidnapped “Be informed that you are one of our targets before the 25th of this month (December) to be kidnapped. You remember the day we robbed your store, you were our target but we missed you. Just to avoid torture and disgrace, you are to pay a certain amount of money to be dropped at a place we will tell you. For the location call this number 08066842087. NOTE: No Police can intimidate us. We know where you work. If you love your life, don’t come with Police – The Squad, Agbor” The threat letter reads.
The accused was arrested on the 15th of January, 2012 by men of the Department of State Security Service, opposite Mr. Biggs, Agbor through the GSM number provided in the threat letter while his gang members fled. He denied the charges claiming that his friend, one Kingsley, now on the run used his telephone number to make a call.
