Alleged attempted murder: AGF's office seeks revocation of bail for ex-NUPENG leader
The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (OAGF) has applied to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to revoke the bail earlier granted to a
The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (OAGF) has applied to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to revoke the bail earlier granted to a former leader of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Lucky Osesua.
Osesua is among the 20 ex-leaders of the PTD-NUPENG being prosecuted by the office of the AGF before Justice Halilu Yusuf on charges bordering on attempted murder and related offences.
At the resumption of proceedings on Tuesday, prosecuting lawyer, David Kaswe, applied to the court for the revocation of Osesua's bail because he allegedly breached the terms and conditions of the bail granted him.
Defence lawyer, Christopher Oshomegie (SAN), objected to Kaswe's application.
Oshomegie said, "Why are they asking that their bail be revoked when they have been denied access to the depots? It is an act of inhumanity to demand that their bail be revoked.
"What have they done? What offence have they committed, and you are asking that their bail be revoked?"
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In his intervention, Justice Yusuf agreed with Kaswe, noting that there was no inhumanity in the prosecuting lawyer's request for the revocation of the first defendant's bail.
The judge said, "He (prosecuting lawyer) has the right to ask that I revoke bail, but he ought to have shared with you.
"I always tell defendants that your relationship is between you and the court, not your lawyer. Your bail is your constitutional right, but on terms that you don't breach the contractual agreement.
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"So, I insist that Kaswe hasn't done anything wrong by bringing it to my attention. He should have informed me or written formally to the court. So, Kaswe hasn't done anything wrong. I am the judge here.
"The fact that he said he will write an application to revoke bail doesn't mean that I will grant it. But it is his right," the judge said.
Testifying as a prosecution witness on Tuesday, the Deputy President of NUPENG, Comrade Olujide Kilanko, gave details of how he was attacked by Osesua and 20 others at the national secretariat of the PTD- NUPENG in Abuja.
Led in evidence by Kaswe, the witness said on November 1, 2023, Osesua led the other 20 defendants to ambush and attack him and other senior leaders of the union at its secretariat in Abuja.
He said the defendants, along with thugs they mobilised to the union secretariat, were armed with stones, sticks, and broken concrete, which they used to attack him and three others.
Kilanko said, "That morning in the company of my President, Comrade Akporeha, we were in a vehicle along with General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, and the late Comrade Augustine Egbon.
"We arrived at No 50 Majekodunmi Cresent Utako, Abuja. The driver used to press the horn two times, and the gate would be opened.
"This time around, no response from the gate, and Afolabi went down from the car. There was no response, and the president too went down to join him.
"That was when I looked up and saw that Comrade Lucky Osesua and a few others were also at the gate. I had to go down too to join them.
"I saw Comrade Osesua saying they have come. That made me look in the direction he signalled and saw the rest of the defendants now coming with stones, sticks, and broken concrete.
"When I noticed what they were holding, I had to struggle through the pedestrian gate to enter. As I pushed back, Osesua and Sylvanus held Afolabi down at the security gate."
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He added that when he entered the premises, he passed through the back of the sixth and ninth defendants, who blocked him and said he wouldn't go.
The witness added, "As I was arguing with them that I would pass, they started beating me. They hit my legs, lips. When the beating was getting too much, I turned and wanted to go back outside, not inside again.
"It was one of them that hit the back of my head with either a stone or wood, and I fell outside on the floor. I fell unconscious. They still kicked me.
"A few minutes later, I started hearing a sound, and that brought me up again. I saw across the road, Comrade Afolabi, down on the pedestrian floor. I had to manage to get up. I moved towards the side of the office fence."
The PW3 said his first effort to escape was frustrated by the defendants, who blocked a vehicle that could have taken him away.
"By the roadside, I saw a car that was parked and a driver standing by the car. Because I was wounded, I begged the driver to move me out of the place. He agreed.
"As he was making a U-turn to get out of the place, Olabisi Akinlolu (4th defendant) and Sikiru Tiamiyu (9th defendant) saw me and called the other defendants, shouting my name.
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"They stopped the driver and further threatened the driver with sharp objects. Before I could open the door, Dele Nwaka (5th defendant) smashed the windscreen of the car, so I had to leave the car.
"Before I could open the door, they dragged me down from the car and started beating me again. The beating stopped when someone among them cautioned that I could die," he told the court.
He said, despite his condition, he still ran to hide himself and later saw a tricycle, which he asked to take him out of the place.
Kilanko also told the court that a member of the union he had earlier frantically called for help later responded and sent a driver to pick him up.
"I could only remember that I woke up at a private hospital.
"The police came to the hospital and took me, Afolabi, and Akporeha to their office. When I was asked to make a statement, I could only dictate."
The prosecuting counsel, David Kaswe, tendered the witness' hospital card and statement made to the police. These were admitted by the court as exhibits in the matter.
The witness was later cross-examined by the defence lawyer, following which the judge adjourned till April 28.
