The arraignment of the five suspects accused of kidnapping five students
and three members of staff of the Turkish School in Isheri, Lagos State in
January was stalled on
Tuesday due to the absence of an interpreter, as the
suspects claimed that they could only speak Nigerian Pidgin.
The suspects were escorted to the Federal High Court in Abuja by armed
operatives of the Inspector General of Police’s Special Intelligence Response
Team (IRT).
When the suspects approached the dock, Justice John Tsoho asked if they
could speak and understand English, to which the defendants replied that they
could only speak “Pidgin English.”
All efforts to bring an interpreter to court proved futile, forcing the
presiding judge to adjourn the matter to Wednesday, June 21, for hearing. He
said that an arrangement should be made to secure a neutral and competent
interpreter for Wednesday’s hearing, adding that Pidgin is not the language of
the court.
It would be recalled that five Turkish students and three staff members
were abducted from their school in Isheri on January 13, 2017.
The police arrested the gang and uncovered the sum of N1.2 million,
presumably part of the ransom payments they received from victims.
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