The Lagos State High Court in Ikeja on Tuesday struck out the murder charge filed against the Lagos State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Moshood Salvador, and 10 others.
Justice Obafemi Adamson discharged the defendants following the legal advice of the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions, which said there was “insufficient evidence to prosecute the suspects for murder.”
The police had on July 24 arraigned Salvador and 10 others before the Lagos State Magistrates’ Court in Yaba for the “unlawful killing” of the PDP chairman in the Apapa Local Government Area of the state, Adeniyi Aborishade.
Aborishade was shot on July 21, during the PDP’s “visitation meeting” that held at Igbosuku Village, Eti-Osa Local Government Area.
He was said to have been rushed to First Consultant Medical Centre, Ikoyi Road, Obalende, where he died.
According to the police, the mayhem, which led to Aborishade’s death, resulted from a fight between the loyalists of Salvador and those of Kehinde Fasasi.
The prosecution said Salvador and others were liable to be punished under sections 233 and 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Those charged alongside the Lagos State PDP chairman were Kehinde Fasasi, Rotimi Kujore, Fatai Adele, Ismaila Abiola, Amos Fawole, Victoria Falowo, Mukaila Odukoya, Oropo Isaac, Mohammed Babangida and Ugochukwu Nwoke.
Following their arraignment, the magistrate, Mr Oyetade Komolafe, ordered that the politicians should be remanded in the prison custody, while the case was adjourned to await the legal advice of the DPP.
However, when the case came up before Justice Adamson on Tuesday, the prosecution called the judge’s attention to the DPP’s advice, stating that available evidence was not enough to sustain murder charges against the defendants.
