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A 46-year-old pastor, Chukwudi Neme, has been remanded in prison custody by.....
A 46-year-old pastor, Chukwudi Neme, has been remanded in prison custody by an Abakaliki Chief Magistrates' Court for allegedly attempting to steal a child.
Neme was accused of attempting to deprive one Desmond Nkemekolam of his two-year-old son, Joseph by attempting to steal the child from his father's house.
Inspector Nkwoagu Ugboka, prosecuting, told the court that Neme, on July 20, at No. 24 Old Enugu Road, Abakaliki, stole one Joseph Nkemekolam from his father's house.
Ugboka stated that the accused on the same date broke into the dwelling house of Desmond Nkemekolam and damaged his electronic sets and other property valued at N96,000.
The prosecutor told the court that the accused had already held his victim on the neck trying to strangulate him when somebody sighted him.
He said that the passerby raised alarm which attracted Desmond, the boy's father and his other son, Ferdinard.
Ugboka told the court that it was on attempt to rescue the boy from the pastor that the accused gave human bite to Desmond and injured Ferdinard with a broken glass.
Counsel to the accused, Mr Victor Okechukwu, applied for bail, but the prosecution opposed the application.
The Magistrate, Mrs Esther Ifeanyi-Nwuke, however, turned down the application on the grounds that the court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the matter.
Before adjourning the case indefinitely, she ordered the prosecutor to transfer the case file to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.
The accused was advised to pursue his bail at the High Court.