Pastor, 4 others in court for murder
Five persons, including a pastor of a Pentecostal church in Osogbo, have been arraigned at an Osogbo
Magistrate's court for attempted murder of a PDP chieftain.
The accused, Pastor Kolawole Moses, Olayera Kayode, Lukuman Obasanjo, Abdulazeez Mohammed and Rasak Akanbi, were arraigned on a four count charge of conspiracy and attempt to murder Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa.
The prosecution told the court that the offences were committed on April 14, at Obelawo area in Osogbo.
They were alleged to have armed themselves with dangerous weapons such as guns, locally made pistol, cutlasses and axes, along with others now at large, to attack Olaoluwa.
The accused persons pleaded not guilty to all the four count charge, while their counsel applied for bail.
The prosecutor, Mr John Idoko, opposed the bail and said that they could go out again to attack innocent citizens.
He argued that the magnitude of the offences committed by the accused person was much, adding that releasing them would tamper with police investigations.
The defence counsel, Mr Remi Ayoade, had urged the court to grant his clients bail on liberal terms, because the accused persons were innocent until the police proved contrary.
The counsel noted that the accused persons had been kept in police custody since their arrest on April 14.
The Magistrate, Mr. Jide Falola, in his ruling granted them bail with two sureties in the sum of N250,000 each and said that one of the sureties must be a blood relations or employer of the accused persons.
The case was adjourned to June 1, for mention.