Court Frees Suspected Kidnappers

An Anambra State High Court sitting in Onitsha yesterday discharged and acquitted three persons accused of kidnapping the Chief Executive Officer of GUO Group of Companies, Chief Godwin Okeke, on August 23, 2009. The three persons, Kelechi Okafor, Anthony Okafor and Alexander Onyinaya, have been in detention after being arrested at different places and arraigned by the police in 2013.

In his judgement, Justice Alexander Okumah held that the prosecution counsel, Mr Chris Ajugwe, Okeke and other prosecution witnesses failed to prove their case against the accused.

According to the judge, there is no evidence to show that Kelechi was involved in the kidnap. He said: “None of the evidences by Okeke indicated how he identified Anthony Okafor to the police as one of the suspects.

“There is no clear, credible or direct evidence that the vigilantes and the police arrested Anthony Okafor at Nsugbe in Anambra East Local Government Area.

“The material evidence of Okeke against Alexander Onyinaya was contradictory.”