By Mike Jones
KWALE/Nigeria: The Chiefs in Council of Onitcha Ukwuani in Ndokwa West Local Government of Delta State had been accused of abetting in criminality in the community.
The allegation was made recently by a one time member of the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon Aneke Ifemeni, while speaking with Ndokwa Reporters, after the arrest of a Sumo Pump was stolen and the culprits were later arrested with the missing item.
According to him, the community for several years had witnessed the activities of vandals, with the arrest of any of the culprits, but luck ran out of them recently when some of them were arrested.
“For some years now there has been a lot of stealing and vandalization of government facilities in Onitcha Ukwuani community. For the first time vandals were apprehended together with their sponsor/ buyer with their confessional statements recorded in Onitcha Ukwuani police station”.
He stated that when the culprits where charged to court by the police, the chiefs ganged up to secure their release.
“They were charged to court and today all the chiefs gang up to pressurize the magistrate to withdraw the case and that the exhibit be returned to them”.
He stated that the reason given was that the culprits will be cautioned at the local court.
Confirming the incident, a chief of the, Chief Solomon Oyemike, said the community decided to take the case off the court, and deal with it in their local court. He however said the arrested culprits who are relations of the leaders of the community had agreed to fix the damaged pump.
The police in confirming the incident that they charged the case to court as required of them, and it was left within the jurisdiction of the judiciary, and not that of the police.
