By Adeleye Kunle
On Wednesday, the absence of convicted kidnap kingpin Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike (a.k.a. Evans) stalled a suit filed against him by a kidnap victim, Chief Donatus Duru.
Duru filed the suit in 2018 before a Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, seeking a refund of the 223,000 pounds he allegedly paid as ransom to Evans while in his custody.
Duru is also suing Evans for N50 million in compensation for his kidnapping.
Evans’ counsel, Mr Amobi Nzelu, reminded the court on Wednesday that the court granted his application to become counsel to the defendant on the last adjourned date, June 29.
According to Nzelu, he wrote a letter to the court requesting that the Nigeria Correctional Service produce the defendant in court on Wednesday.
The defense attorney expressed surprise that the defendant was not present in court.
However, Duru’s counsel, Mr D. O. Obiora, stated that the case had been adjourned until Wednesday in order for the defense to present its case.
Obiora stated that he was not served with a copy of the letter.
“Because we are parties in this suit, we should be provided with a copy of the letter,” he said.
Evans’ attorney responded that it was an oversight.
“It was not done to cause harm to the claimant,” he claimed.
Justice Kayode Ogunjobi ruled that because the defendant was not present in court, the letter was not acted upon by the court’s registrar.
He postponed the case until Oct. 12 to allow the defense to present its case.
According to Track News, on the most recent adjourned date, the judge granted the defendant’s request to change counsel and amend his statement of defence.
According to Track News, the defendant was represented by a lawyer in March 2019 and was given the opportunity to defend himself but did not do so.
The defendant sought leave of court to defend himself after the claimant closed his case on March 3, 2022.
Evans claims he has been in prison custody since August 2017 and was unaware of the action’s status.
He stated that he became aware of the suit in 2019, after the deadline for filing a defense had passed.
Evans told the court that he hired a lawyer to defend him as soon as he learned about the suit.
The defendant, on the other hand, claimed that he was informed in March that his lawyer had ceased to represent him.
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