By Ebi Kesiena
Three Nigerian students were on Thursday charged at a Kenyan court with allegedly abducting businessman Abdul Sharif, to a bush then later driving him to an apartment.
The three, Alvin Taiwo, Olulande Ankitanyo and Jesse Simeon, were charged before Kibera senior Principal magistrate Derrick Kuto where they denied the charges.
The court heard that the accused persons committed the offence on April 17, at Sandonwoods apartments in Kibra in Kilimani area within Nairobi county.
They allegedly abducted the complainant from his apartment to a certain bush where they assaulted him and threatened to kill him with a kitchen knife, and later took him to an apartment in Parklands.
They then allegedly forced him to video call his family member where they asked for some ransom. They also ransacked his house and stole a laptop.
In court they denied the wrong doing and pleaded for a lenient bond terms.
Thorough their lawyers, the accused said they were ready to abide by the court directions once released on lenient bond terms.
“The purpose of bond is to ensure the accused appear in court. One of the accused person is married to a Kenyan woman and another has a Kenyan girlfriend,” the lawyer said.
He vowed to prove to court that the accused person are students and are legally in the country for academic purposes.
“I pray that the court allows us to provide some academic papers to prove that the accused are legally in the country for academic purpose,” he said.
Court Prosecutor Allan Mogere said it was important for the accused person to deposit their passports in court.
However, they were released on a Sh600,000 bond with an alternative cash bail of Sh300,000 with a credible contact person for mention at a later date.
