Police Officer Testifies against Nigerian Facing Kidnapping & Drug Charges
By Fatima Kpaka
Edwin Uwa Ogbonna, a Nigerian, made another appearance before the Principal Magistrate of the Freetown Magistrate Court No.1, Sahr Kekura over an allegation of Kidnapping and possession of Cocaine and Kush.
The first prosecution witness Detective Police Constable Tapia Amara attached at the Transnational Organized Crime Unit (TOCU) recognized the accused and recalled August 22, 2024, when he was on duty a transferred case of kidnapping and unlawful possession of prohibited drugs was brought to the station for further investigation from the Lumley police station.
The witness further said that the file contain an endows search warrant, a statement of complainant Balogun Mosuro Abayomi, and the witness together with some exhibits.
He said the exhibits include a quantity of white substance suspected to be cocaine in a transparent polythene bag and a quantity of dried shredded leaves suspected to be ‘kush’, quantity of brown shredded leaves suspected to be cannabis saliva in clinical sachets, quantity of blue hand gloves and face mask, seven Sierra Leonean passports, one Liberia passport book, two ECOWAS traveling certificates, 2,000 Naira, one Samsung smartphone, US$ 300, Le1,500, one damage button phone, and a black jeep – LNK-002.
He said the accused was handed over to him for further investigation.
The witness was cross-examined by defense counsel Z. A Kanu who made an application for bail on behalf of the accused.
State prosecutor Idrissa Kamara objected to bail because the accused is a Foreign national and will be a flight risk by jumping bail.
The accused was remanded in custody and the matter was adjourned to September 24, 2024.
The accused was arraigned before the court on nine counts including kidnapping, possession of prohibited drugs without a license, dealing with prohibited drugs, and using prohibited drugs without a license.
The charge sheet indicates that accused Ogbonna on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, at Juba in Freetown, kidnapped Monsuru Abayomi Balogun.
The charge sheet further states that the accused was found in possession of a loose quantity of cocaine, cannabis sativa, and ‘kush’ without lawful authority.
The accused was found using prohibited drugs without lawful authority, according to the charge sheet.