Police arraign 2 suspects for illegal possession of firearms in Enugu

The police in Enugu have brought two men before an Enugu High Court presided over by Justice Catherine Nwobodo for unlawful possession of firearms.

Nnamdi Ugwueze and Michael Okezie were arraigned on Wednesday for carrying two double-barrel guns on their laps while in a cab.

Testifying before the court, Mr Okhare Ijeh, an assistant superintendent of police, said the accused persons were in a cab when they stopped them on a stop-and-search patrol in Uwani Enugu.

'I do not know these men before the incident on Oct. 12, 2012 when we arrested them in possession of one English made double-barrel and locally made double-barrel guns without license in a cab.

'When we ordered them to come down, Okezie made a move to come down and the cloth they used to cover the gun that was in a bag shifted then I sighted the butt of a gun,'' Ijeh said.

He also told the court that Okezie wanted to escape but was captured by another police man.

He said they were taken to the police station and subsequently handed over to the State Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) for more investigation.

'The discovered items including the guns, bag and the dirty cloth used to cover the guns were also handed over  to the SARS,' he said.

The second witness who investigated the case, Mr Pius Umushike, said he discovered that the two firearms were recovered from the accused persons in a vehicle.

Umushike said he obtained the statement of the cab driver and the two accused persons before he commenced his investigation.

The counsel to the defendants, Mr Nnamdi Ugwu, called for adjournment to enable him to go through the statement of the witnesses and cross-examine them.

Nwobodo adjourned the case to Feb. 13 for cross-examination.