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Absence Of Interpreter Stalls Trial Of Suspected Kidnappers Of Turkish Students

All efforts to bring an interpreter to court proved futile, forcing the presiding judge to adjourn the matter to Wednesday, June 21, for hearing.

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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CRIME Legal