The Akwa Ibom State High Court in Okoita, Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area, has sentenced a 34-year-old man, Kingsley Etim Eyo, to 10 years imprisonment for abducting his cousin, a six-year-old boy.
The boy has still not been found.
Eyo, a native of Ikot Otoinyie Village in Uruan Local Government Area, was convicted having been found guilty by Justice Okon Okon.
The judge held that the convict betrayed his cousin’s trust.
The convict and one other had on July 19, 2018, abducted Goodnews Kufre Essien from his mother who sent him to buy Garri in Ikot Otoinyie Village, Uruan.
He had pleaded not guilty to the charge leading to the full trial.
The prosecution team from the State Ministry of Justice, led by Comfort Udo, an Assistant Director of Prosecutions, called three witnesses.
The prosecution also tendered four exhibits, including the Police Investigation Report dated September 20, 2018, and the confessional statements of the convict in which he admitted that his percentage from the child trafficking was N80,000.
“The money that we sold Goodnews is with Joshua. My percentage of that money is N80,000.
“Yes myself, Denis Joshua went to a native doctor, Cletus from Ikot Akpa Ekong village in Uruan Local Government Area to do charm in order to hide it from people,” the convict said in his extrajudicial statement.
Justice Okon held: “I have thoroughly and meticulously read and reflected on the entirety of the extrajudicial statements of the defendant and have appraised, scrutinised and evaluated same with the evidence of prosecution witnesses.
“I can infer that the defendant worked in close collaboration with his friends and cohorts in taking away Goodnews Kufre Essien from the custody of his mother, the PW1.
“I have also taken into consideration the relationship of the defendant with PW1 (his aunt) and the child victim in this case.
“The defendant betrayed and compromised his close relationship with PW1 and her abducted child who according to the defendant calls him ‘Uncle’.
“The prosecution has beyond a reasonable doubt, proved the guilt of the defendant for child abduction as charged.
“I, therefore, find the defendant guilty.
‘The defendant, Kingsley Etim Eyo is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.”
Activist Calls For Visa Ban On Aisha Buhari Over Abduction, Torture Of Student
Deji Adeyanju, the convener of Concerned Nigerians, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife, Aisha, of eating fat on Nigeria’s money.
To this end, Adeyanju urged the international community to ban Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari from speaking at human rights programmes.
Adeyanju was reacting on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, to the unlawful torture of a student by security agencies at the instance of Mrs Buhari.
Recently, the media has been awash with the arrest, detention, and ‘supervised’ torture by Mrs Buhari of a student of Federal University, Dutse, Aminu Adamu Muhammed, on 8th November, 2022, over a scathing Twitter comment he made about the wife of the President.
Muhammed had tweeted in Hausa saying “Su mama anchi kudin talkawa ankoshi”, meaning “Mama has eaten poor people’s money and is now full”, followed by an attached picture of the First Lady.
As a result, the student was handpicked by security agencies and allegedly taken to Aso Rock only to be treated in a debasing and inhumane manner through torture.
Reacting, Adeyanju condemned the unlawful arrest and torture of the student by security agencies at the instance of Mrs Buhari.
He described the conduct as debasing and unconstitutional.
A statement by Adeyanju reads partly: “Aisha Buhari is feeding fat on our money. However, while it is acknowledged that Mohammed’s post only speaks to facts because of available statistics. According to reports; the estimated yearly budget for food & travels for Aso Rock from 2016 till date is: 2016 – N3.27 billion; 2017 – N3.11 billion; 2018 – N3.81 billion; 2019 – N3.39 billion; 2020 – N7.46 billion; 2021 – N6.07 billion; 2022 – N6.77 billion. From these gulping budgeted sums, one can only safely posit that Mohammed’s assertion is the complete truth as the First Lady has been feeding fat on taxpayers’ money used in offsetting budget expenses for Aso Rock.
“Thus, the conduct of the First Lady and the detailed security agencies is bereft of sound judgment, oppressive, and unconstitutional. First off, for such arrest and torture of the student to have been triggered through the First Lady is demeaning to the office of the President and does not portray the entire country in a good light to the entire world, in terms of respect for citizens fundamental freedoms protected under the country’s Constitution. In the world over, it has been accepted that torture constitutes a serious matter of concern that threatens the life and dignity of human persons.
“Accordingly, the international community is called to ban Mrs Aisha Buhari from either attending or speaking at Human Rights events in demonstration of their condemnation against the First Lady’s conduct. In this regard, all the Security officials involved in this dastardly act should also be made to face the full wrath of the Law.”
