Anambra court orders re-arrest of kidnap suspect

The trial of 10 suspected kidnappers of an Onitsha-based transport magnate and Chairman of G.U.O. Motors Limited, Chief Godwin Okeke, took a new dimension yesterday as traders stormed the Onitsha Chief Magistrate Court in Anambra State to protest an alleged directive by the states Attorney General that one of the accused persons be discharged.

The trial Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Ngozi Okoye had remanded all the accused persons in prison custody and ordered the police to forward their case file to the state Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for onward transmission to the Attorney-General for further advice.
At the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, news filtered into Onitsha markets that the Attorney-General of the state, Barrister Emmanuel Chukwuma, had directed the court to discharge Amaechi Ekweolu, one of the accused persons, on the grounds that no prima facie case was established against him in the kidnap matter.

Upon enquiry, the traders discovered that the discharge order was true. They, therefore, gathered at the court premises with placards and demonstrated against the order of the A-G to discharge the suspect.

Some of the placards read: "Our greatest ptroblem are kidnappers and armed robbers, so, Government should help us"; "our businesses are in trouble because of criminals and we are tired of these criminals taking over our hard-earned wealth"; "kidnapping must stop and we need security in Onitsha"; "it is only in Anambra State that kidnappers are released without trial", among others.  
Accordingly, the case was called up and the Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Okoye read the A-G's letter before the court, after which she discharged the accused person.

However, 20 minutes after the discharge, the accused person and the prison officials were still seated inside the courtroom when the court reconvened and ordered that the accused person be remanded in police custody.