Two lovers who spent 6 years in prison for a crime they did not commit have been discharged and acquitted
After spending 6 years in
prison over
a crime they did not commit, a court sitting in Ado Ekiti, the capital
of Ekiti State, has discharged and acquitted two lovers, Kenneth George
and Evelyn Okechukwu, who have been in detention for an alleged case of
theft.
The court found that there was no evidence
to charge the two and condemned the prosecution for doing a shoddy job,
thereby taking away 6 years from the lives of the two young people.
Justice Isaac Akintayo, who gave the judgment said:
I
hold that the prosecution has failed to prove its case against the
accused persons as required in law, therefore, no reasonable court or
tribunal will convict them.
Justice Akintayo
thereafter ordered that the accused be discharged and acquitted on all
the five counts charges brought against them by the prosecution.
The
lovers were first accused of theft at 14, Igbole Road, Ido-Ekiti in
Ido/Osi local government area of the Ekiti State and charged to court in
2008 on a five-count charge of
robbery and conspiracy.
According
to the prosecutor, their offence contravened section 1 (2)(a) of the
Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions)Act, cap R 11, vol. 14, Laws of
the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Despite the
accused pleading not guilty and the case not properly handled by the
prosecution, they were remanded in prison custody and have been in
prison for the past 6 years before their appeal was heard and they
finally got their freedom.
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