The police arraigned a 26-year-old lawyer, Ekunife Emmanuel, in a Lugbe Grade I Area Court in Abuja for allegedly assaulting a commercial sex worker.
The police charged Emmanuel, of Jahi, Abuja, with criminal breach of trust, assault, causing hurt, and inciting disturbance, an offense he denied committing.
Earlier, the prosecuting counsel, Olisaemeka Okeke, told the court that the complainant, Queeneth John, a commercial sex worker in Wuse Zone 5 Abuja, reported the matter at Asokoro police station on March 12.
Okeke said the complainant claimed that on March 11, at about 10 p.m., the defendant approached her at Wuse, where she was hawking, and took her to Bannex Plaza and demanded sex.
He said the defendant also took the complainant to a hotel in Guzape and promised to pay her N50,000 after having sex with her.
Okeke told the court that the defendant had sex with the complainant, and when she demanded her money, he refused to pay her the money as he promised.
He said that in the process, the defendant started beating the complainant, and as a result, she sustained bruises all over her body.
He said when the defendant was brought to Asokoro Police Station, he started videoing the station and the police officers on duty, thereby inciting disturbance in a public office.
The prosecutor said during the police investigation, the defendant made a confessional statement.
Okeke said the offense contravened the provisions of Sections 312, 365, 244, and 114 of the Penal Code.
The judge, Aliyu Kagarko, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N1 million and a surety in like sum.
“I hereby grant the defendant bail in line with Section 165(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 to deposit 10 percent of the bail sum at the court registry pending the determination of the case.
He ordered that the surety must be a legal practitioner with not less than 5 years of practice and must submit his or her call to bar certificate.
He said the surety must reside within the court’s jurisdiction and adjourned the case until April 18 for a hearing. (NAN)
