The arraignment of the dreaded PortHarcourt Serial killer has been put on hold due to the absence of his lawyer during his court hearing in Rivers State High Court on Monday.
Gracious West was arrested by the police while he was on his way to Akwa Ibom State from Port Harcourt after he had supposedly killed two women in Lagos, Owerri and five others in Port Harcourt.
Portharcourt serial killer, prior to his arrest on September 19, 2019, would frequently in lure unsuspecting young women to hotels, then kill them after stealing their money, after which he would leave their bodies laying dead in the hotel rooms.
PortHarcourt serial killer was brought to court by heavily armed personnel of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, at about 10.28am, and the suspect was not represented by any counsel. This made it unfortunately impossible for the charges to be read to him.
Justice Adolphus Enebeli, who was the presiding Judge of the case observed that the suspect was in court without a lawyer, he stated that the PortHarcourt serial killer was entitled to a lawyer, and without one, he could not be sentenced.
Justice Enebeli had asked the PortHarcourt Serial killer if he had any lawyer representing him in court and he said no.
The suspect told the court that a lawyer, whose name he could not recall, promised to be in court to represent him, but he did not know why the Lawyer was not in court.
The Judge adjourned the case till Tuesday (today), adding that the matter deserved timely and expeditious hearing.
Speaking with newsmen after the court session, the Officer-in-Charge of Legal Matters and Prosecutions, Gladys Imegwu, said the suspect was aware that he would be in court.
She said, “The matter for today (Monday) is the case of Gracious West, the suspected serial killer. He was to be arraigned in court today on 10 counts; nine counts bordering on murder and one count bordering on attempted murder. He was duly served and he was aware that the matter would come up in court today.
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“He told the court that his lawyer permitted him to be in court today, but the lawyer was nowhere to be found.”
The court has the right to appoint a lawyer for him either from the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria or the bar. The court in its wisdom adjourned the matter till tomorrow (Tuesday) on the grounds that he should get a lawyer of his choice. But if he is not able to do that, the court will decide whether to appoint one for him from the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria or the bar.”