Alleged treason: Imo ex-deputy gov’s arraignment stalled

The arraignment of the immediate past Imo Deputy Governor Gerald Irona before Owerri High Court was on Tuesday stalled.

Irona’s team of lawyers went home disappointed after they were informed that the arraignment could not go on because the case file had not been brought to the court.

The legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State, Kissinger Ikeokwu, who appeared in court for Irona, said the ex-Deputy Governor would now be arraigned on Wednesday.

Ikeokwu said: ‘’The arraignment will now take place on Wednesday. We hurriedly filed on Friday and when we got to the court on Tuesday we discovered that the arraignment will no longer take place today. The matter was not enlisted in court for the day. The case file has not been brought to the court. He will now be arraigned on Wednesday.”

Imo Police last Thursday arraigned Irona at Owerri Magistrate’s Court on a three-count bordering on treason, confiscation of the State Government property and making utterances to overthrow the Governor.

The three-count charge reads ”That you Hon Gerald Irona sometime in January 2020, at Owerri in the Owerri magistrate district, did conspired with others now at large, to commit felony to wit: treason and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 37(2) of the criminal code, cap c 38, law of the federation of Nigeria, 2004, as applicable in Imo state.

“That you Hon Gerald Irona sometime in January 2020, at Owerri in the Owerri magistrate district, did make several utterances to the effect that you will make Imo state ungovernable and immediately afterwards hoodlums levied several attacks on Imo state with intent to intimidate or overawe the governor of Imo state and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 37 of the criminal code, cap, c 38, law of the federation of Nigeria, 2004, as applicable in Imo state.

“That you Hon Gerald Irona on the 15th day of January, 2020, at Owerri in the Owerri magistrate district, do converted to your own use two land cruiser jeep ( V8 and v6) and one Toyota Hilux vehicle valued four hundred and Ninety three million naira property of Imo state government thereby committed an offence punishable under section 390 ( 9) of the criminal code, cap c 38, laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004, as applicable in Imo State.”

(Nation)