The Lagos State Directorate of Public
Prosecutions has said 49-year-old Samson Adeneye and a woman, Oyerinde
Olawunmi, 48, have a case to answer in a matter in which a human skull
was found in the ceiling of an orthodox church in Lagos.
Two
policemen attached to the Special Anti-robbery Squad – ASP Franklin
Alade and Cpl Deleojo Odunayo – were also implicated in the matter, for
abuse of office.
PUNCH Metro had
reported in July 2013, that a human skull was found in the ceiling of
the St. Peter Cherubim and Seraphim band on Moses Adebisi Street, in the
Ketu area of the state.
Prior to the
incident, Adeneye and Olawunmi, who were former members of the band,
were said to have sent threat text messages to some of the church’s
ministers.
The two suspects were said to have accused the pastors of occultism and threatened to deal with them and kill them.
Both suspects were said to have alerted the two SARS officers that there was a case of gunrunning in the assembly.
The
policemen reportedly stormed the assembly without any search warrant
and headed for the ceiling where they allegedly found the item.
Our
correspondent learnt that further investigations by the police revealed
that the two former members might have arranged the object to implicate
the ministers, as suggested by earlier text messages sent to them.
They
were subsequently arrested and arraigned before a Surulere Magistrate’s
Court on charges of unlawful possession of human head.
The matter had been adjourned for DPP’s advice.
The
DPP in its advice, signed by the Deputy Director, Adegboyega Bajulaiye,
said, “After carefully considering the facts available in the duplicate
case file, this office is of the view that there are sufficient facts
to establish a prima facie case of conspiracy to commit felony to wit;
offering violence to officiating ministers of religion, written threat
to kill and publication of false news which is likely to cause fear and
alarm to the public….
“Facts
available in the duplicate case file reveal that prior to January 19,
2013, there was a malice that brewed up over the years between Apostle
Albert Samson and Samson Adeneye, which culminated into unauthorised
search on the premises of Albert by men of SARS, led by ASP Franklin
Alade, on the trumped-up allegation of gunrunning. This act of the
police officers, which was believed to have been instigated by Adeneye,
amount to abuse of office….”
The
advice further stated that the two defendants had been sending death
threat messages to the ministers, which were meant to distract them from
their duties as ministers.
On the
matter of the skull, the advice said, “There is however a strong
inference from the facts in the case file that Adeneye may have been
instrumental to placing ritual objects, including human skulls, on the
ceiling of Albert’s church because of his prior accusation of Albert
being a ritualist. This will only amount to speculation and suspicion,
which no matter how grave, cannot stand in the place of law,
particularly in the absence of eyewitness account or unequivocal
evidence of inference.”
The DPP said
based on its findings, Adeneye and Olawunmi, should be arraigned for
conspiracy to commit felony, written threat to kill and publication of
false news.
Four other suspects were ordered to be released, if still in police custody.
The magistrate, Mrs. A.O Adedayo, adjourned the matter till July 1, 2014.
Andrew Enwerem, the state Police Public
Relations Officer, who made this known to newsmen said, the arrest
followed several complaints from motorists, who have been lamenting
police extortion due to the reintroduced stop and search operation in
the state.
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