The Lagos High Court Sitting in Ikeja on Wednesday watched two videos showing suspected kidnap kingpin Chukwudumeme Onwuamdike popularly known as Evans confessing to criminal activities.
The videos, obtained by the police, were played at the start of the trial of Evans alongside one Victor Aduba on charges of conspiracy, kidnapping of one Mr Sylvanus Hafia and unlawful possession of firearms.
They showed Evans explaining his mode of operation and disclosing the various bank robberies he was involved in as well as the ransom paid by various kidnap victims.
The court got to watch the videos while listening to the first prosecution witness Inspector Idowu Haruna who was a member of the team which arrested the suspected kidnap kingpin.
In the videos, Evans was seen seated on a leather sofa in a room, wearing a red T-shirt and narrating how he carried out his crimes to Haruna.
He also spoke about his background and how he ran away of home and got into a life of crime, starting armed robbery and transitioning to kidnapping and activity which fetched him as much as $1m at a point.
After the videos were played, a move by the Director of Public Prosecution, Titilayo Shitta-Bey, for them to be admitted in evidence was deferred to the next adjourned date by the judge owing to the request of the defence team to be allowed time to study the certification of the video CDs before then.
The defence team insisted that they had only just been served the certification in court and would need to get their technical team to study same so as to determine how to proceed on the matter.
The Court, however, admitted in evidence the statements of Sylvanus and Chidiebere Ahanunu, the Kidnap victim and his wife as well as that of his brother, Dominic.
Justice Taiwo then adjourned till April 23 and 27 for continuation.
Before adjourning the matter, the court allowed the State Government to file additional evidence in the case despite the objections of Evans’ counsel, Olukoya Ogungbeje.
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo held that the prosecution was at liberty to file additional evidence at any stage of the matter and before judgment.
The court, therefore, dismissed the objections filed by Evans
Evans’s counsel had argued that allowing the additional evidence to the charges would prejudice his client who had already appealed the same at the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal.
The counsel had urged the court to stay proceedings pending the determination of his appeal but Justice Taiwo held that the application lacked merit as there was nothing before her to show how the additional evidence would prejudice the Evans.
