The Gwagwa Grade 1 Area Court on the 9th March, 2016 struck out a case of Assault, Bribery, allegation of threats to kill the family of one Mr. Sampson Danladi and refusal of arrest against Chief Benson Ashibuogwu in a case tagged: COP versus Chief Benson Ashibuogwu.
Presiding Judge, Hon. Suleiman Mohammed in his submission, stated that he struck out the case for lack of diligent prosecution because the case had suffered series of adjournments since 2014 it commenced.
Sampson had alleged that Chief Benson Ashibuogwu and his wife, Mrs. Rose Akabuogwu fought him and his family, accused him of bribing the Karmo DPO, boasted of killing him and his family and refusing police arrest. These allegations infuriated the DPO’s who ordered that the case be charged to court even without proper investigations into the matter.
We gathered that since the IPO did not go to the scene of incidence to ascertain whether there was actually a fight between the two families or not, it becomes a mission impossible to prosecute the case without witnesses.
nationalTRAIL findings also revealed that the complainant, Mr. Sampson Danladi on several occasions failed to produce his witnesses at his instance in court
to prove his case irrespective of Judge’s demands for that to enable him get the truth of the matter.
However, on the 9th March, 2016 Hon. Suleiman Mohammed had no other option than to strike the matter out of his court to enable him treat other pressing cases before him.
The matter started when Mrs. Rose Akabuogwu did not hear her case mentioned in court after the court has heard a case from one Mr. Okache Felix a native of Iyala-Ogoja in Cross River state, residing in Karmo, an Abuja suburb sent by IPO Sgt. Matthew from Karmo Police Station that one of his neighbours, one Inspector Danladi Sampson Ogbunu of Maintenance Department of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Sauka-Abuja and his alleged native doctor, one Yahaya Mohammed living in Paipe village, Karmo came to threaten his life and that of his family, that they will join hands to kill him and family, same night Mrs. Rose Akabuogwu’s matter with Mr. Sampson Danladi started.
She screamed and complained to the prosecutor one Mr. Sani who advised that she should go back to the IPO Sgt. Matthew to raise her own FIR for his DPO’s signatory because statement in the file shows that she is a witness to Mr. Felix Okache’s case. On reaching Karmo Police Station, Mrs. Akabuogwu said the DPO refused receiving her own complaint, directing them to go back home and maintain peace.
As she left unsatisfied with her husband, behold the following day September 10, 2014 according to her, same accused person, Sampson Danladi Ogbunu went to the same DPO of the station and reported an unfounded allegations against Mr. and Mrs. Ben Akabuogwu and they were arrested and hurriedly charged to court without any formal investigations, alleging that Chief Benson Ashibuogwu and his wife fought him and his family, accused him of bribing the Karmo DPO, boasted of killing him and his and refusing police arrest.
Sampson’s junior brother, Bawa had then in an interview stated that Sampson has been terrorizing members of the compound with Yahaya, the purported native doctor. He said that on September 9, 2014 at about 11.00pm, he saw the native doctor collecting sand at both the front and back of the room of one of their neighbors working at the Customary Court of Appeal, Utako-Abuja, Mr. Benson Achibogwu. When the wife of the man Mrs. Rose Achibogwu saw him, she came out, raised alarm and held the man that she will not leave him except he drop the sack he used in collecting the sand from her frontage and back yard, before he reluctantly dropped it on sighting people converging.
The woman told nationalTRAIL that Sampson has constantly been threatening that he will never be alive to see her conceive again
Fuel Hawkers at the Central Area in Abuja.
Stories by Chris RICHARDS, Abuja
except the only child she has now, that he had tied her womb and that she can never born again in life after her first male child.
When contacted at the station, then Karmo Divisional Crime Officer, Supol Emeka who confirmed the incident, however declined further comments on the matter but directed the IPO, to prepare the FIR ready for their DPO SP Davis who was not on seat when nationalTRAIL visited, for further action. The case was thereafter charged to the Grade 1 Area Court, Gwagwa on the arrival of the DPO through the prosecutor who read out the charges against them before the court president, Hon. Suleiman Mohammed, pointing out that the offence is in contrast to section 79 and 397 of the Penal Code which both pleaded not guilty.
When nationalTRAIL contacted Inspector Danladi Sampson Ogbunu then at the Police Charge Room Counter for comments on the allegations leveled against him, he said, “I don’t talk to pressmen”, but however told the Karmo Police DCO, that his junior brother, Inspector Umaru Bawa is ganging up with other people to tarnish his image.
Though the case we learnt is not yet over as there are moves to apply for the commencement of the matter against Chief Ashibuogwu with the introduction of the new Judicial Officers as from the Federal Ministry of Justice prosecutors, to take over the matter while Mrs. Achibogwu initial case is yet to be entertained.