From Abel Leonard, Lafia
In a court case between Dr. Fred Ekpe Ayokahi, a Senior Lecturer at the Federal University of Lafia, FULAFIA, and the State Commissioner of Police, Dr. Ayokahi has been convicted and sentenced to serve a six-month jail term.
The charges against him include criminal conspiracy, housebreaking, abduction, voluntary causing grievous hurt without provocation, and assault against a 20-year-old woman named Blessing Mathias.
Dr. Ayokahi was initially arraigned in court alongside three others, including his children, Emmanuella Ayokahi, Bob-Praise Ayokahi, and Saint-Dan Ayokahi, as the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants. One accomplice, Vera Ogbonnaya, is still at large.
After several legal proceedings, Dr. Ayokahi’s counsel approached the court with an offer for plea bargain, which was accepted by both parties involved in the case. The plea bargain resulted in amended charges against the 1st and 4th defendants.
On April 20th, 2023, Justice Solomon W. Ayenajeh of the High Court Obi convicted Dr. Ayokahi and sentenced him to a six-month jail term for criminal conspiracy and another six-month jail term for assault. The sentence will run concurrently in consideration of his plea, and the six months he has already spent in custody will be reckoned with.
The judge let off the 2nd to 4th defendants under a six-month probation order. Within that time, they will be tasked with keeping the premises of the Nasarawa State High Court of Justice clean and being of good conduct. The third defendant was also admonished to shave his dreadlocks.
Dr. Ayokahi thanked the court and parties involved in the case for their leniency and drew attention to his history as a responsible father and teacher in a federal institution. He also stated that he had taken steps to compensate the victim, Blessing Mathias.
Shortly after the judgement yesterday, the prosecuting counsel and State Attorney-General, Abdulkarim Abubakar Kana, said that the government’s goal was to provide Dr. Ayokahi and his children with a second chance in life.