Cynthia: Court Grants Two Suspects Bail, Remands Driver

A Yaba Chief Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday granted bail to two suspects arrested in connection with the alleged murder of Cynthia Osokogu.

But  the driver who was accused of driving the prime suspect to Cosmilla Hotel, FESTAC, was remanded in prison custody.

The suspects granted bail – Nonso Ezike (22), who is the younger brother to Olisaeloka, one of the alleged killers, and Ezeaka Chinonso (27) – were arrested by policemen at Area E for receiving and selling Cynthia’s BlackBerry phone.

The two counts read, “That you Ezike Nonso Ifechukwu and Ezeaka Chinonso, sometime in the month of July 2012, at 93 Tedi/Memo Road Abule-Osun, Lagos in the Lagos Magisterial District did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit: receiving robbed/stolen property thereby committed an offence and punishable under Section 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
“That you (accused persons), on the same date, time did knowingly receive one white BlackBerry phone valued at N85,000 from one Ezike Olisaeloka also known as Chidera, property of Cytnhia, knowing same to have been robbed/stolen and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 326 (1)(2) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.”
Nonso’s lawyer, Mr. J. C Ngobili, told the court that the accused was a student of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, and prayed the court to grant him bail in liberal terms.
The Magistrate, Mr. P.A. Adekomaya, admitted that although the offences were bailable, he pointed out that the bail condition ought not to be too liberal in view of the circumstances surrounding Cynthia’s murder.
He granted Nonso and Ezeaka bail in the sum of N500,000 each with two sureties in like sum, adding that the sureties must not be teachers or local government employees. He added that the sureties could be bank tellers.
He said, “The court observes that the matter at hand is a bailable offence but in order to deter the defendants from flight, I hereby subject them to bail of N500, 000 each with two sureties in like sum.”
The third accused person, Gideon Okechukwu, a driver, was however charged with eight counts of murder, rape, robbery, conspiracy, administering a harmful substance to the deceased among others.