Third defendant in the murder trial of Ifeanyi Dike and two others is expected to open his defence September 27 before a Port-Harcourt High Court to be presided by Justice Adolphus Enebeli.
Sergeant Johnbosco Okoroeze is being prosecuted for allegedly helping first defendant, Ifeanyi Dike, to escape from State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Port-Harcourt on 19 August, 2017.
The first defendant was arrested by police on 19 August, 2017 for allegedly murdering an eight-year-old girl, Chikamso Victory Nmezuwuba, in Eliozu in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, and was been taken to cell by Sergeant Okoroeze when he escaped. Okoroeze, who was a sergeant in the Nigeria Police Force, was dismissed as a result and arraigned. He is third defendant in the case between the Rivers State Government and Ifeanyi Dike and two others.
The Rivers State Police Command re-arrested Dike in Jos, Plateau State after it had put a one million naira bounty on his head and was brought back to Port-Harcourt, Rivers State and arraigned.
The Rivers State government took over the case from the Rivers State Police Command which earlier arraigned Ifeanyi Dike, Ugochukwu Nwamiro and Sergeant Johnbosco Okoroeze for the alleged murder of the eight-year-old girl in which the first defendant after allegedly murdering her was said to have removed some of her body parts and was arrested while going to dispose of her body.
Sergeant Okoroeze, Ugochukwu Nwamiro, second defendant in the suit and Ifeanyi Dike were brought handcuffed to court on 19 August, 2019 when the case came up for continuation of cross-examination of second defendant by principal state counsel in the case, Barrister Chidi Eke.
At the time of murder of the eight-year-old girl, first defendant, Dike, was living with the victim’s parents in the same house.
Mother of the eight-year-old Chikamso Victory Nmezuwuba, Mrs. Lucy Nmezuwuba, said in an interview that she wants justice to be done in the case.
She said her daughter was a “genius” and had wanted to become a ballet dancer to be known all over the world.
She described Dike as having “dubious” character recalling that he refused to relate with people where they lived and had refused to be part of those who looked for her daughter when she was missing.
She said she saw her daughter was missing that fateful day, 18 August, 2017 when she did not come back to her shop after she left to use a toilet in the residence saying she and others started looking for her everywhere but could not find her.
She said it was around 1am on 19 August, 2017 when information came that someone had been accosted carrying a sack on a wheelbarrow recalling that as she and others got there she saw the person accosted was Ifeanyi Dike and when he was asked to open the sack in the presence of policemen of Okporo Police Division where the matter was reported, she said she saw what was in the sack was the body of her eight-year-old daughter.
She had said in the interview that she wants Ifeanyi Dike to die the same way he killed her daughter.
The father of the eight-year-old Chikamso Victory Nmezuwuba, Mr. Ernest Nmezuwuba, also said in an interview that he wants justice to be served in the murder of his eight-year-old daughter.
Both parents of late Chikamso Victory Nmezuwuba were in court when the second defendant in the case, Ugochukwu Nwamiro, was cross-examined by the principal state counsel, Barrister Eke, on Friday, 19 August.
During cross-examination, second defendant Nwamiro admitted that he knew he was arrested by police because of a text message allegedly sent him by first defendant, Ifeanyi Dike.
Dike had allegedly sent a text message to Nwamiro in which he allegedly said he had got human body parts as requested by Nwamiro for alleged money ritual.
Nwamiro said during cross-examination that although he received a text message he deleted it after reading the message. He did not say whether or not the text message was from Ifeanyi Dike and also did not say anything about the content of the message.
When told by the cross-examiner that he deleted the text message because he didn’t want people to see it, Nwamiro said that was not true saying he did not delete the text message to prevent people from reading it.
As he was asked questions by cross-examiner, Nwamiro laughed once or twice before he answered some of the questions.
Barrister Eke said in an interview after the sitting that the text message was “very implicating” for the second defendant asking why he did not call sender of the text message or the police.
However, counsel to second defendant, Barrister Sonye Ndah, said in an interview that the second defendant was innocent of the allegation against him.
He said the text message allegedly sent to his client did not come from the phone of the first defendant alleging that a police woman had given him the phone to send the text message.
He tendered a document from MTN in court which showed the call logs of his client.
Barrister Ndah said in the interview that: “We have tendered a document from MTN which shows that from the 17th of August, 2017 to the 20th of August, 2017, the first defendant, Ifeanyichukwu Dike, did not have any communication with my client, Ugochukwu Nwamiro neither did he send a text message to my client”.
Counsel to first defendant, Barrister Lezina Amegua, had also said in an interview that his client was innocent and would be acquitted.
Sergeant Okoroeze will open his defence as court sits over the matter on 27 September, 2019.
