The males, Mr. Joseph Omegha, Godson Oforkansi, and Martin Okeke, were charged in a case with charge number MCNA/61923, and appeared in Court before Chioma Ikejiofor on Friday. Mr. Jacob Enemuo, a fourth defendant, was unable to attend court due to health issues.
In a petition they submitted to the AIG on the passing of community member Onyemelukwe in 2021, the men were charged with providing false information to police.
The charge sheet stated in part: "That you Joseph Omegha'm', Godson Oforkansi'm', Martin Okeke'm', and Jacob Enemuo'm', sometime in the month of December 2021, conspired among yourselves to commit a misdemeanor, to wit: giving false information to a public servant, and you thereby committed an offence punishable under 496(a) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap.
"You sent a petition to the Assistance Inspector-General of Police, FCID annex Enugu, with the aim to deceive a public authority, saying that one Emmanuel Ezeobi, Kosiochukwu Ezechukwu, and others murdered one Tochukwu Onyemelukwe in broad daylight, despite the fact that you are aware this is untrue.
When you falsely accused one Emmanuel Ezeobi, Kosiochukwu Ezechukwu, and others of killing one Tochukwu Onyemelukwe without any supporting evidence and out of spite, you behaved in a way that was likely to disrupt public order.
The men entered a not guilty plea to each allegation. The case was put on hold until September 29 so that pleas and motions could be made.
In the meantime, Mr. Kyije Abang, the complainant's attorney and the Inspector General of Police, told press that the court had awarded the defendants N50,000 in costs despite his demand for N100,000 for the defendant's counsel's failure to appear.
After the postponement, the defendant's attorney returned to court and stated: "I was on my way to court when my car broke down due to the terrible route. I've already been requested by the magistrate to request a fee waiver. The purpose of the court's presence is to determine whether false information was provided. Nothing compares to fake information.
