|
New Page 14
Dikibo: Delta rules out robbery
�Case moved to High Court
CAJETAN MMUTA, Asaba
AFTER months
of combing for evidence, Delta State Government declared yesterday that former
national vice-chairman (South-South) of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the late
Chief Aminasoari K. Dikibo, was killed intentionally.
The government said Chief Dikibo�s death
was not accidental as claimed in some quarters and has, therefore, included
murder to the earlier armed robbery charge preferred against four suspects.
Subsequently, the trial of the suspects
which had been on-going since May 23 this year at the Ogwashi Uku Magistrate
Court is to be halted and will now be taken up before a High Court in the same
area.
Chief Dikibo was killed by still unknown
persons on February 6 this year at the lonely Ishiagu town, close to Ogwashi-Uku,
in Delta State, on his way to Asaba, the state capital, for a South-South PDP
caucus meeting. He headed the zonal caucus.
The death was widely condemned and its
effects had created a political schism in the zone till date, over acceptance of
Dr. Gospower Ake, picked to succeed the late Dikibo.
A preliminary police report to President
Olusegun Obasanjo, the latter said, indicated that armed robbers killed Dikibo.
But briefing newsmen in Asaba yesterday,
state Attorney-General and Justice Commissioner, Prof. Amos Uthama, said
following the slaying, the government raised a special judicial committee to
examine the police findings and seek any other possible evidence.
Findings by the committee as well as proof
of evidence, particularly the entire police investigation and suspects�
statements, Prof. Utuama disclosed, established proof of offence, hence the
ruling out of accidental killing of the PDP chieftain.
He said Chief Dikibo was killed
intentionally.
Robbery proceedings against the four
suspects had earlier been adjourned twice by Chief Magistrate S. E. Ezhikwe of
the Ogashu Uku Court.
The Attorney-General said however, that
with findings revealing that the death of the PDP chieftain was not accidental,
but was intentional, the ministry is now seeking the consent of the Ogwashi-Uku
High Court to ensure that the suspects were brought to book.
He said the position became necessary
because of the high profile nature of the killing.
"We have filed an information to the High
Court, in Ogwashi-Uku, to prosecute the suspects not just on the robbery, but on
the murder, because this is the highest ranking offence in our criminal status
book," he stated.
He said "the pernicious activities of the
suspects were the result of the death but it was not accidental," adding that
evidence showed that it was allegedly "with a core intention in the incident we
found the case."
Dwelling on other matters, the
Attorney-General said his ministry has recovered over N29.3 million from errant
contractors, who received mobilisation fees for contracts awarded by the state
government but failed to do them, stressing that another set of 85 contractors
are being prosecuted in court for failure to do their jobs.
The commissioner said 300 corporate and
individual tax defaulters had been dragged to different divisions of revenue
courts in the state while about N40 million has so far been recovered.
|
