A Plateau State High Court sitting in Jos the Plateau state capital has quashed two counts charges of conspiracy and child Trafficking preferred against Sanda Ishaku, Amechi Emmanuel, Gladys Chukwuma,Rose Onu and Barr. Osim Jones Usim by the Commissioner of Police.
The court presided over by Hon. Justice C.L Dabup in Charge No. PLD/J74C/2017 discharged Barr. Osim Jones Usim and all the four accused persons.
The quashing of the two counts charges followed a ruling on a Notice of preliminary Objection filed by Barr. Osim Jones Usim on the 23rd of November, 2017 objecting to being arraigned and tried and seek an order quashing the charge against the 5th accused person and such order or further orders as the court may deem fit to make in the circumstance of this case.
According to him, the 5th accused person is charged jointly for criminal conspiracy contrary to section 97 of the Penal Code Section 28 (3) of the Child Rights Act 2003 and Section 21 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act 2003.
He argued that the facts contained in the Nigeria Police statement of complainant/witness made by ASCl Gutul Patrick of Area 6 Sector 1 of Operation Safe Heaven Jos dated 11th day of May, 2017 accompanying the proof of evidence served on the 5th accused person did not disclose any act or offence against the 5th accused person.
He pointed out that there is no link whatsoever between the charge against the 5th accused person and the proof of evidence before the court adding that painfully too Barr. Osim Jones was never at any time arrested alongside the 1st to 4th accused person only to be detained when he went to STF Operation Safe Heaven Head Office to seek for the release of Rose Onu on the invitation of her sons as the lawyer to her estate.
According to him, the 5th accused was transferred to Nigeria Police Force Headquarter Jos where he was detained and the next day taken to the Upper Area court Kasuan Nama and charged alongside the 1st and 4th accused persons and arraigned before the FIR was withdrawn and later re-arraigned before the Plateau State High Court of Justice Jos on an amended charge dated 14th day of February 2018 and filed on the 15th day Febuarary, 2018.
The presiding judge, Justice C. L Dabup after hearing the application to quash the Charges through a Motion on Notice and the submission of Counsel representing the 5th Accused person (Barr. Osim Jones Usim) resolve the two issues distilled and formulated in the Legal argument in favour of the 5th accused person against the complainant/Respondent and in the sum total held that the application is found to be meritorious and the objection raised by the 5th accused/applicant is sustained.
Justice Dabup said the charge against the 5th accused person is quashed and he is hereby discharged.
With this ruling on the Notice of Preliminary Objection and the order quashing the two counts charges against the 5th accused person (Barr. Osim Jones Usim), he is no longer required to answer any of the charges preferred against him at the High Court of Justice Jos or any other Court having established as truth that the charges were false accusations and forcing an innocent person to answer for an offence he was not privy to.
Our correspondent reports that unfortunately the inclusion of Barr. Osim Jones as the 5th Accused person in the charge resulted in World wide media report in electronic, print and social media which reports are still there as news without a follow up report exonerating Barr. Osim Jones Usim.
The media houses that sensationalized the arrest and arraignment have failed to report the quashing order made by the Court and there has been no efforts to counter the old position of the case with the new development in the various media platforms.
It is against this background that this report is made to set the records straight as none of the media houses and platforms deemed it reasonable to cover the outcome of proceedings at the High Court of Justice Jos which resulted in the quashing of the two counts charge on the 26th day of October, 2018.