54 lawyers led by 84 years old Ede O. Inekuku appeared in court on Thursday the 2nd of August 2018 to defend Warri based Lawyer Benard Oyabevwe who is standing trial on an alleged assault to the Police.
The premises of Magistrate Court 1, Effurun, Delta State was filled to its capacity by Benard’s defence counsel drawn from Warri, Effurun,Sapele and Ughelli NBA branches. Although Mr. G. J. Odjesa conducted the proceeding, the presence of the 84 year old legal icon and the 53 other lawyers made a resounding statement to the bar, the bench and the Nigerian Police on the continued brutality against members of the bar
At the commencement of proceedings, the Police withdrew two of its charges and sought leave to substitute the pending charge and thereafter opened their case by calling PW1 who was cross examined and at the instance of the prosecution the case was adjourned.
It would be recalled that on June 5th 2018 policemen in Area ‘A’ Division Police Station in Warri, Delta State severely beat up a lawyer Mr. Bernard Oyabevwe while he was attempting to secure the release of his client with a court injunction. Read here
Despite videos showing how Police brutalized the Lawyer, a charge of assault on two policemen was filed against Mr. Oyabevwe. According to the charge sheet, the defendant assaulted officers, Collins Imade and Renner Festus on June 5 at Police A Division, Warri while performing their lawful duties. Mr. Oyabevwe, had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Chief Magistrate H O Ikeh adjourned the case to 14th and 15th of August 2018 for continuation of hearing at the instance of the prosecution.
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