Connect with us

Metro

Panic as judges, lawyers are held hostage by gunmen in court

Published

on

Panic as judges, lawyers are held hostage by gunmen in court
Three courts in Makurdi, the Benue State capital were stormed by gunmen numbering up to 10 who shot in the air on their arrival causing palpable fear and panic when they held a sitting judge and others hostage, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
According to an eyewitness, the gunmen stormed three courts including the Benue State High Court 9, Chief Magistrate’s Court and the Upper Area Court which are all about 500 meters away from state police headquarters around 8am.
The eyewitness said when the gunmen stormed the Benue State High Court 9, the Presiding Judge, Justice Mary Abounu, who is the wife of deputy governor, was already seated when they stormed the court and held her and the people in the court hostage.
Recounting the incident, Mr. Isaac Ajim, a magistrate said; “Actually, the first court the hoodlums visited was the Magistrate’s Court 1. They broke into the courtroom and the chambers, where they carted away one computer, a printer, a generator as well as files for various cases”.
Continuing, Ajim said, “After the criminals were done with my court, they proceeded to High Court 9, presided over by the wife of the deputy governor, Justice Mary Abounu, and carted away a refrigerator, three stabilizers, a set of computer, window blinds and left behind empty bottles of drinks.”
In her words, Mrs. Sarah Gboji, the registrar at the Upper Area Court who described the gunmen as robbers said; “The thieves made away with N280, 000.”
After unleashing terror on their victims, the criminals, locked the courtrooms with the padlocks they brought with them.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu, who confirmed the incident, said three security guards had already been invited for interrogation while also assuring that the suspects would be arrested and made to face the music.
 

RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now

Click to comment

0 Comments

  1. JOHNSON PETER

    November 3, 2016 at 8:56 am

    Major thing is that they didn’t kill anyone , neither do they kidnapped anyone. That shows they were hungry people .

  2. Animashaun Ayodeji

    November 3, 2016 at 8:57 am

    “they carted away one computer, a printer, a generator as well as files for various cases,” the judge at should sorry for the distress, but what will happen to the files the robbers took away?

    • Margret Dickson

      November 3, 2016 at 8:59 am

      I guess the cases will be automatically dismissed, since the court have no record on them. This is why Nigeria needs to start saving files on and offline. If the files were saved online, they can retrieve them easily, but now, the robbery appears to favor some people too.

    • Amaka Okoro

      November 5, 2016 at 3:14 pm

      That one done go Because the file can never be brought back because the file contains many things that need No exposure

  3. Roland Uchendu Pele

    November 3, 2016 at 8:58 am

    But sincerely, that Police Public Relations Officer needs to be stoned! Security in this country is a scam, and the last thing we want to hear from these agencies is a speech of hopelessness.

  4. Johnson Amadi

    November 3, 2016 at 9:01 am

    Robbers robbed three courts, what were the police men around doing? Did they plan with them?

  5. yanju omotodun

    November 3, 2016 at 9:06 am

    I am sure that the gunmen were sent by some politicians especially those who are having pending cases in the court . as they have stolen the files now, then automatically, the cases will be thrashed out because they knew Nigeria is still backward in technology especially in ICT. Ordinarily by now all cases in court should be done and saved on computer and online which no one would have been able to steal away.

  6. victoria wilson

    November 3, 2016 at 9:23 am

    The robbers definitely came for the files….smh. Sincerely we need to step up in this country. we are so backward when it comes to IT.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

five + nine =