Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of an Ikeja Special Offences Court yesterday sentenced Udeme Upong, one of the co-defendants standing trial alongside a kidnap kingpin, Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike, also known as Evans, to five years imprisonment for illegal sales of firearms.
Upong and Evans, Joseph Ikenna Emeka and Chiemeka Arinze are charged before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of an Ikeja Special Offences Court on a seven-count charge of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to kidnap and selling of firearms.
They were alleged to have attempted the kidnapping of Vincent Obianodo, Chairman of the Young Shall Grow Motors.
However, at resumed proceedings yesterday, Upong, through his counsel, Mr. A. B. Josiah, informed the court of his intention to change his plea of ‘not guilty’ to ‘guilty’.
Subsequently, Justice Taiwo ordered the prosecution to review the fact of the case.
Reviewing the facts of the case, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Dr Babajide Martins, who led the prosecution team, informed the court that Upong, who hailed from Itan-ikoronumu village in Ika LGA of Akwa Ibom State as at time of arrest, admitted to being involved in the matter, having met the first defendant.
He said the convict admitted to selling 2-AK 47 guns and 270 arms of ammunition to Evans sometime in 2008 contrary to Section 29(2) of the Fire Arms Act F28, 2004 and punishable under Section 27(b)(III).
Dr Martins said the convict claimed he got the weapon from his village where they usually used it for inter-communal crises.
He said that they agreed to N400,000 for the two ammunition but the defendant paid him N200,000.
Dr Martin’s told the court that the defendant’s statement had been admitted in evidence.
He told the court that the defendant was charged under Firearm Act Section 92 and punishable under Section B.
“Under the said law, the offence attracts maximum of five years imprisonment.
“We are not aware of any of his previous convictions,” he stressed.
He urged the court to convict the defendant accordingly.
Subsequently, Justice Taiwo found him guilty as charged and convicted the defendant for the offence of illegal sales of fire arms.
In his allocutus, the defendant’s lawyer appealed to the court to consider his change of plea as a remorseful act and for not wasting the time of the court and taxpayers’ money.
He also urged the court to consider the fact that the defendant has been in detention since July 6, 2017, which is almost the length of his sentence.
Josiah further appealed to the court to temper justice with mercy and give the defendant a lenient sentence as a first offender who had not been convicted before.
In his judgment, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo sentenced the defendant to five years imprisonment which reads from the date of his remand in custody of Kirikiri Correctional Service on July 6, 2017.
Last month, Evans was jailed for life in one of the charges filed against him and others before Justice Hakeem Oshodi.
Evans still has about two more related cases of kidnapping against him before Justice Taiwo and another two before Justice Adedayo Akintoye of Lagos High Court now sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square.