Late Cynthia Osokogu
Families and friends of the two remanded pharmacists, Osita Orji, 32, and Chukwunonso Maduokor, 25, involved in the murder saga of Cynthia Osokogu last July 22, are mounting pressure on the police to drop the charges filed against them. The pharmacists were arraigned along with Okwuma Nwabufo and Ezeike Olisaemeka, both of whom had confessed to killing Osokogu, on an eight-count charge of conspiracy, murder, armed robbery, rape, “unlawful administration of obnoxious substance” and “forceful administration of obnoxious substance” with a view to causing bodily harm.Click on read more below to continue....
After the eight-count charge was read to them, without taking their plea, they were remanded in Ikoyi prisons. Osokogu was allegedly raped, tortured and then killed by the duo of Nwabufo and Olisaemeka at Cosmilla Hotel at Amuwo Odofin in Lagos.
According to the pharmacists’ allies, the only crime the suspects had committed was in selling Rohypnol, the drug used for the late Osokogu, to Nwabufo and Olisemeka and the police detective who
went under cover.Rohypnol is a controlled drug also known in street parlance as a date rape drug but can also be used to manage anxiety disorders, insomnia and restlessness, and also prescribed to patients with high blood pressure.
However, despite being a controlled drug, the pharmacists had allegedly sold it to the two suspected killers. They also had sold to an undercover police detective, who wanted to test if the control status of the drug was being obeyed by the pharmacists. The pharmacists who worked at Oxpharm Pharmacy, one of the largest goods and drugs stores in FESTAC Town, were arraigned alongside the two main suspects.
When THISDAY paid a visit to Oxpharm Pharmacy yesterday, the pharmacists’ colleagues were reluctant to speak. THISDAY further sought to know the kind of persons the suspects were before their arrest. According to one of their colleagues who spoke on condition of anonymity, the two accused persons are known for their hard work and conscientiousness.
She said: “They were both hard workers who minded their business. Before their arrest, they had never had any criminal record in this pharmacy. We were just as surprised to see them both arrested and branded as murderers.Already,there is a growing
campaign for the release of the duo.In a statement by some of
Maduakor's friends and colleagues,they demanded that the murder
charge against them be dropped.
They said: “We, the friends of Chukwunonso Maduakor are saying: Nonso is our friend and we are not friends of a murderer. His name is associated with the above names and other responsible names attached to this document and do not belong to the Ikoyi Prisons’ roster.
“Brandishing him with crimes he didn’t commit is the same as brandishing his friends, colleagues and family. This unfair and unjust imprisonment of Nonso is a crime against humanity. Today an innocent man is in jail and you might be the next.”According to them, since the suspect was never implicated by any of the alleged killers and had never met them before his arrest, then the charges against them should not be for murder.
They, however, admitted that he sold the controlled drug to the detective in disguise but not to the suspected killers of Osokogu. They said since the alleged killers had been apprehended, Maduakor should not take the punishment for another man’s crime.
Culled from ThisDay
If the murderers did not implicate the two pharmacists as the people who sold them the drugs,it would not be fair to charge them for this crime.
ReplyDelete