Posted by By OLA AGBAJE and LUKMAN OLABIYI on
A new twist has been introduced into the murder of pilot and rights activist, Jerry Agbeyegbe as the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) has rejected the report of police investigation into the incident. He also ordered the re-arrest of the lady who was with the deceased the night he was killed.
A new twist has been introduced into the murder of pilot and rights activist, Jerry Agbeyegbe as the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) has rejected the report of police investigation into the incident. He also ordered the re-arrest of the lady who was with the deceased the night he was killed.
This is coming at a time a Lagos High Court discharged and acquitted Tunde Ebiwonjumi and Adewole Dioko, who were accused of complicity in the killing of Agbeyegbe.
The DPP condemned the release from custody of one Juliet Okonkwo who was with the Agbeyegbe at the time of the incident. "This office is disturbed by the action of the police in this regard."
Agbeyegbe was cut down in the hail of bullets in the night of November 12, 2004 by yet to be apprehended assassins at the Alapere area end of the Third Mainland Bridge expressway, near a filling station.
Following the incident, the police promptly arrested the station security personnel-Ebiwonjumi and Oloko, and gleefully paraded them as the prime suspects in the murder of Agbeyegbe.
However, after a careful analysis of the police report, the DPP exonerated the two men who had been in custody since November last year because "no case was disclosed against them".
According to the report, the inability of the ballistian to match the firearms purportedly recovered from the security guards with the pellets extracted from Agbeyegbe's body made it impossible to connect the men with the crime.
On the fate of Juliet, who was found with the late pilot during the incident, the DPP directed her immediate re-arrest for the purpose of further investigation into the crime.
According to the advice, "her presence with him as the last known person makes her a vital witness/main suspect. As a matter of fact, her presence with him at the material time, is a fact in issue for the purpose of Section 6 of the Evidence Act".
Picking further holes in the discredited report, the advice said: "We also observed inconsistency in the statement of Juliet Okonkwo and the police who visited the scene shortly after the occurrence of the incident. Juliet Okonkwo said she was woken up by the police while the policemen said they saw her standing by the vehicle."
Consequently, the advice requested the police to re-arrest the lady for the purpose of further investigation.
It would be recalled that 29 bullet entry points were found on Agbeyegbe's body while Juliet, who was with him, had claimed that she was fast asleep when the gunmen launched the bloody attack.
She further claimed that she was picked up by the slain pilot on the night of November 12, 2004, few hours before his life was cut short by assassin's bullets.