Court
Lagos Judge – charms should not be brought to court . Ikeja High Court Justice Hakeem Oshodi has warned members of the public not to leave charms in his courtroom.
Oshodi issued the warning on Monday, the first day of the trial of five individuals charged with the murder of Ifeanyi Etunmuse.
“There should be no charms left in my courtroom.” It should not happen again. A talisman was found after the last adjourned date in the murder case,” he said.
The judge, who referred to the charm as ‘property’, warned the courtroom audience, “Do not leave your property here again. It does not work anymore.”
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the Lagos State Government has charged the following five suspects: Atunrase Omolabi, Shittu Olawale, Olaide Opeifa, Olanrewaju Adebiyi nicknamed Maja, and Jamiu Omosanya aka Orobo.
At Western Funeral Home in Ijede Ikorodu, they were accused with attempted murder and murder of Etunmuse.
Earlier in the trial, the defence counsel continued with the cross-examination of the prosecution witness, Babatunde Olayinka.
Olanrewaju Ajanaku, the main defense attorney for the first, second, and third defendants, as well as the fifth defendant, asked Olayinka if he could say that the defendants were involved in the deceased’s attack.
He also asked if he could see the compound of local politician and burial services businessman Oluwatosin Onamade from his hiding location after the claimed attack.
The witness told the court that he hid in the cemetery and lay down for a while to hide from a group of men that he saw wielding machetes at the Onamade compound on the day of the incident, April 16, 2021.
The witness further told the court that as he hid himself from the machete-wielding men, he turned around and saw a dead body beside him.
The defendant’s attorney asked the witness, “Can you say emphatically that the first, second, third and fifth defendant had anything to do with the body you saw?”
The witness responded that he could not declare unequivocally that the defendants were involved in the death.
The fourth defendant’s defense attorney, Mahmud Adesina, began the cross-examination of the prosecution witness, questioning him on whether he had previously told the court that Femi Onamade, a relative of Oluwatosin Onamade, was the one who knew the defendants in person.
Olayinka stated that Femi knew the accused and Oluwatosin could identify them.
Mr. M. T. Adewoye, the prosecution’s attorney, re-examined the witness and asked him to clarify what he meant when he told the court earlier that he couldn’t identify the defendants.
Olayinka told the court that he indeed saw the machete-wielding men when they came into the compound.
Adewoye requested the court to issue a witness summons for Femi Onamade to appear in court.
The judge, then issued a witness summons for Femi Onamade.
The case was deferred by the judge to February 19, 2024, to allow for the continuation of the trial.
On a previous court hearing on April 6, the prosecution had alleged that the suspects also cut off the wrist of Femi Onamade, the younger brother to Tosin Onamade.