Five Arraigned Over Imo Kidnappings
The State Security Service, SSS, has arraigned five men before the Imo State High Court over separate kidnapping incidents involving 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members and four other victims.
The defendants appeared before the court at the Oru Judicial Division in Mgbidi on Tuesday, facing charges including abduction, conspiracy, hostage-taking, ransom collection and unlawful possession of firearms.
According to the prosecution, three of the defendants are allegedly linked to the abduction of 20 prospective corps members along the Owerri–Mgbidi–Onitsha Expressway on October 1.
The victims were reportedly travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when they were seized.
Mediaplusng.com reports that the three defendants are Usman Aliyu, 25, also known as Chonge; Babangida Aliyu, 21; and Mohammed Ali, 23, popularly called Smallie Pepper.
Prosecutors allege that the defendants, alongside other suspects still at large, participated in the kidnapping and collected a ransom involving 48 million naira and foreign currency.
The charges also accuse the trio of unlawfully possessing three AK-47 rifles, four magazines, a pistol and 81 rounds of live ammunition.
All three defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
In a separate case, two other men, Aminu Haliru, 27, and Tange Ibrahim, 20, also known as Jijji, were arraigned over the alleged abduction of four people around Owerri and Mgbidi on October 4.
The prosecution accused the pair and other suspects still at large of collecting eight million naira in ransom for the victims’ release.
They were also charged with unlawful possession of an AK-47 rifle and a pump-action gun. Prosecutors said 1.8 million naira was recovered from the defendants in the second case.
The five defendants separately pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them.
Following their pleas, the prosecution, led by state counsel Ekezie Nwauzo, asked the court to remand the defendants in custody.
Presiding judge, Justice Emeka Orafu, ordered that they be remanded at an SSS facility and adjourned the cases to October 22, 27, 28 and 29 for further proceedings.
The prosecution has listed an SSS investigator and the alleged victims as witnesses in the cases.
The arraignments follow the release of the 20 prospective corps members on October 7, exactly one week after their abduction.
The victims were reportedly freed following a joint security operation involving the SSS, military personnel and police operatives in Imo State.
The cases are expected to proceed as the court considers the allegations and evidence presented by the prosecution.
The defendants remain accused persons, and their pleas of not guilty mean the allegations have yet to be established in court. The outcome will depend on the evidence and the judicial process.
Authorities have continued efforts to address kidnapping and other security threats along major routes in the state, where travellers have faced risks from criminal activity.
The proceedings are expected to shed further light on the alleged kidnappings and the evidence against the five defendants.
