A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has fixed Friday, April 29 (tomorrow), for the re-arraignment of Precious Chikwendu, on allegation of the attempted murder of her former husband, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode and children.
Chikwendu and three other defendants, will be re-arraigned before Justice Inyang Ekwo on 14-count charge. They are Emmanuel Anakan (first defendant), Prisca Chikwendu (third defendant) and Osakwe Azubuike (fourth defendant), while others are said to be on the run.
The defendants were earlier arraigned before the court on February 14 on 13 counts. Justice Ekwo adjourned the matter shortly after the police prosecutor, John Ijagbemi, applied for the amended charge to be read to defendants for them to take their plea.
But the judge said that the re-arraignment would not go on yesterday and adjourned till April 29 for the defendants to take their plea.
According to The Guardian, Fani-Kayode, the former Minister of Aviation, was the nominal complainant in the matter. But in an amended charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/01/2022 and filed by John Ijagbemi on behalf of Commissioner of Police, FCT Command on April 22, the ex-wife was said to have committed attempted culpable homicide on November 24, 2018.
She was alleged to have threatened to kill Fani-Kayode, the children and other occupants of the house with two kitchen knives at Asokoro within the court jurisdiction.
The offence is said to be punishable under Section 229 of the Penal Code Law. She was also accused of making false allegations on November 24, 2018 with intent to deceive members of the public and make them believe that the injuries in the pictures were inflicted on her by her ex-husband.
Besides, Chikwendu was alleged to have “criminally uploaded doctored/photo-shopped pictures” of her biological child, Liam Femi Fani-Kayode, who was four years old, to deceive members of the public that the child sustained injury on his forehead.
According to the charge, the offence is punishable under Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention Etc) Act 2015.
The defendants were further alleged to have committed offences bordering on cybercrime, intimidation to kill the former minister, among others
They are also being accused of using the internet to send abusive messages with intent to bully, defame and harass her ex-husband.
They were alleged to have fabricated false evidence by deposing to series of affidavits that Chief Fani-Kayode physical and sexually assaulted members of his domestic staff in inhuman conduct by causing same to be electronically published in a national daily.
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