A Magistrate Court in Port Harcourt presided over by Chief Magistrate Kingsley Briggs has remanded eight defendants at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre for their alleged involvement in the killing of Ejike Enyadike and the stabbing of another victim at the Rukpokwu International Market in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The defendants were remanded after the prosecution informed the court that it had secured a remand order pursuant to Form 18 of the court’s Practice Directions.
Counsel to the 2nd, 4th, and 6th defendants, who claimed his clients were victims of a mass arrest, applied for bail. He told the court that as a legal representative of the Cow and Goat Meat Sellers Association, the union would cooperate with security agencies to apprehend the main suspect still at large.
Chief Magistrate Briggs, however, refused the bail application, noting that justice is a three-way traffic for the victim, the defendant, and the state. He stressed that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter since it involves a capital offence, and urged the market union to assist security agencies in tracking down the fleeing suspect.
News: Obio/Akpor Council Intervenes In Land Dispute, Calls for Dialogue
He also decried the high rate of criminal activities in the area and the influx of hoodlums who have turned the market into a danger zone. The matter was adjourned to November 27, 2025, for the Director of Public Prosecutions’ (DPP) advice.
Our correspondent reports that the deceased’s brother told the court that a dispute over a trading spot led to an altercation in which one of the defendants allegedly stabbed his brother with a dagger. As the victim attempted to flee, others reportedly held him down while he was fatally stabbed. A neighbour who intervened was also stabbed and is currently receiving treatment in the hospital.
In a related development, Justice Muhammad Turaki of the Federal High Port Harcourt has fixed January 23, 2026, to deliver judgment in a suit filed by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) challenging the legality of President Bola Tinubu’s amendment of the Rivers State electoral and tribunal laws ahead of the August 30, 2025 local government elections.
Justice Turaki fixed the date after parties adopted their final written addresses and argued their motions on preliminary objection.
Speaking to journalists after the proceedings, counsel to ADC, Collins Dike, explained the basis of the suit and the arguments presented before the court, expressing optimism that justice would be served.
