By Simon Ebegbulem

A man accused of shooting a Fulani herdsman and facing trial for the alleged crime in Uromi, Edo State has absconded and now at large, the police told the Chief Magistrate, Mrs Ojo Maureen Osa yesterday when the case was called up for hearing at the Magistrate Court, Uromi, Esan East Local Government Area of Edo State.

Kelvinbrown Ikuenobe, 31, farmer and a resident of House No. 23 Iyahen Street, Upper Sakponba Road, Benin City, Edo State is currently facing trial on  a three-count charge bothering on illegal possession of firearms and shooting a herdsman, identified as Saleh Yusuf, thereby taking the laws into his hands.

The accused had however, told the court on February 12, that he shot the herdsman in defence when his family was attacked by a group of vindictive Fulani herdsmen in the night of Monday February 2.

He was then released on bail as the court adjourned the case till yesterday, March 5, 2015.

“Your Honour, we could not produce Kelvinbrown because he is now at large. We were informed that he had run away with members of his family, namely: his wife, Kelvin Brown Faith and child. We are working and investigating to establish his whereabouts. We assure you we would produce him in court on the next adjourned date madam,” said Sgt Isa Gamu, the prosecuting police officer.

Ikuenobe had told the court when the case was first mentioned in February that he had a quarrel with the herdsmen at his farm located at Amedokhian community in Uromi, Edo State in the morning of the same day he was attacked after he met the nomadic herdsmen grazing their cattle in his farm.

He said that the cattle destroyed his crops and out of anger, he killed one of the animals by hitting it with his car.

The herdsmen traced him to his father’s house where he was staying  with his wife and daughter and attacked him in the night. Ikuenobe also claimed that two of his attackers raped his wife. He told the court that he had used his father’s gun, a double-barrel riffle to defend himself and his wife, but the prosecuting officer had argued that the young farmer had no licence to use a gun.

“Instead of calling the police, Kelvinbrown resorted to self-help and used his father’s riffle himself having no licence to use a gun contrary to section 28 of the Firearms Act,” Gamu stated when prosecution proceedings began on February 2.

Gamu said he gathered from Ikuenobe’s neighbours that he had absconded out of fears that the Fulani herdsmen had threatened to kill him.

He also informed the court that Yusuf is currently hospitalised at the General Hospital in Uromi.

The magistrate then adjourned the case to Wednesday, July 29, 2015 for further hearing and charged the police to produce him on the said date unfailingly.

The court later called up a case involving a woman, Agatha Omene who was accused of selling her three-year old daughter.

Omene pleaded not guilty to a four-count charge of conspiracy to kidnap, trading and child trafficking, intent against human dignity and subjection to slavery, contrary to Section 34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

She pleaded not guilty and the case was adjourned to Monday March 23, 2015.