A Magistrates’ Court in Makurdi on Monday ordered the remand of two men, Terhile Yarnum and Simon Changoji, over allegations bordering on conspiracy, trespass, assault, and unlawful possession of firearms.
Presiding Magistrate Ajuma Igama declined to take the defendants’ plea, citing lack of jurisdiction over the matter. She subsequently directed that the accused be held at the Makurdi Correctional Centre and adjourned the case until May 11 for further mention.
Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Insp. Inedu Friday, informed the court that the case was reported by Kanshio Cyprin, a resident of Ukemberegya in Logo Local Government Area of Benue State, at the Anyin Divisional Police Station.
According to the complainant, he and five others were working on a farm when the defendants, alongside several individuals believed to be members of the Changoji family, allegedly stormed the land. The group was said to have been armed with sticks, cutlasses, and firearms.
The prosecution stated that the attackers allegedly trespassed onto the farmland, assaulted the workers, and inflicted injuries on one Terhile Abraham, who sustained a wound to the forehead.
It was further alleged that the suspects made away with a wheelbarrow filled with seed yams valued at N136,000.
Police investigations led to the arrest of the two defendants, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend other suspects still at large.
The prosecutor added that the alleged offences contravene several provisions of the Benue State Penal Code Law, 2004, as well as the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act.