The Nigeria Police Force has finally brought Nnamdi Emeh, the whistleblower who exposed an organ trafficking ring within Anambra police command, before a Federal High Court in Awka, the state capital.
Emeh was arraigned at the Federal High Court on Thursday.
The police filed 12 counts against him, accusing him of committing crimes alleged to have violated several regulations and laws.
Emeh, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
His lawyer, Mr. Justus Ijeoma Esq, moved the bail application already filed for him while the police filed a counter-affidavit in opposition to his bail application.
The judge subsequently reserved the ruling on the bail application to Tuesday, May 16 and remanded him in the custody of the Federal Correction Centre, Awka.
SaharaReporters had reported that Emeh, who has been in police custody for weeks, was on April 2, 2023, transferred from the Force Headquarters in Abuja to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Awka.
His transfer to the state came despite public outcry as to why he would be transferred from the Force Headquarters Abuja to the Anambra State Command of the Nigeria Police, where most of its senior officers were named in the gory details of the atrocities happening at Awkuzu, SARS.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that his lawyer and family had made efforts to get the police to charge him but all were to no avail.
However, on Thursday, the police took Emeh’s case to court for proper prosecution, alleging that he was arrested for malicious publications against the police and for electronically hacking into the bank account of a suspect under investigation. He was accused of transferring a large sum of money into his personal bank account from the suspect’s account.
The police pleaded with the court to deny Emeh’s bail application, arguing that he will jump bail if he is released from police custody.
He was therefore remanded at the Federal Correction Centre, Awka, pending the determination of his bail application on Tuesday, May 16, 2023.
The police document filed before the court reads in part: “That if the Defendant/Applicant is granted bail, he will run out of Nigeria to a more difficult place to find him, as he is used to running out of the country as a result of crimes.
“That the paragraph 3 of the Defendant/Applicant is not true because of his antecedent of running out of the country which made police to declare him wanted and eventually arrested at Benin Republic when he was on the verge of leaving Benin Republic for Europe before he was arrested.
“That the paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Defendant/Applicant are false to the extent that the reason for the arrest of the Defendant/Applicant was about ‘negative publications against the police’.
“In further answer, the Defendant/Applicant was arrested for electronically hacking into a bank account of suspect under investigation and transferred a huge sum of money into his personal bank account and another person’s bank account which ran above N48,560,000 (Forty-eight million, five hundred and sixty thousand naira) and which was later converted into $53,000 (fifty-three thousand dollars) and ran away. Exhibit ‘B’ is relevant.
“That the paragraphs 6,7 and 8 are not true because throughout the investigation of the matter, it was not revealed that CSP Patrick Agbazue was involved in hacking the bank account under reference as well as converting the money into dollar currency.
“In further answer, every action Defendant/Applicant undertook was suspected to have planned for him to escape justice because he had direct communication with the police authority as well as other sister agencies like DSS.
“That the paragraph 10 of the Defendant/Applicant is false because the Defendant/Applicant was not investigated by the IGP monitoring Unit rather it was state CID Awka that investigated Defendant/Applicant regarding hacking into a suspect bank account and move huge sum of money for himself.
“That paragraphs 11 and 12 are not true to the extent that no charge was filed against the Defendant/Applicant. In further answer, 12-count charge was filed against the Defendant/Applicant and that has been the charge he facing trial with.
“That the paragraph 13 is false because the circumstances surrounding the attitude of the Defendant/Applicant after he must have committed the crimes.”
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